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A picture of the incident was widely circulated on the internet. Photo: Handout

Teletubbies scare: father of boy accused of damaging HK$52,000 statue in Hong Kong says toy store has promised refund amid social media backlash

  • Father says he realised he was ‘misled’ about incident after video footage was posted on social media on Sunday, and that store has called him to offer apology and refund
  • Video shows five-year-old leaning lightly against 1.8-metre-tall statue; staff had earlier told family the child kicked the figure before it fell

A Hong Kong designer toy store at the centre of a controversy over a damaged Teletubbies statue costing more than HK$52,000 (US$6,624) has promised a full refund to parents of a five-year-old boy accused of kicking the figure, according to the child’s father.

Cheng Pok-man, 39, told the Post on Tuesday that his son Lucas was in shock and had watched in horror as the 1.8-metre-tall statue fell and broke into pieces after he had lightly leaned on it at the KK Plus store in the Langham Place mall.

At the time of the incident on Sunday, Cheng offered to compensate the store and was later charged HK$33,600 for the broken statue. He said a staff member had told him his son had earlier kicked the statue. Cheng said the company contacted him on Tuesday morning for an apology and offered a refund.

The story had gone viral on social media after a video was posted on Sunday night, with the store coming under fire from online users over its initial handling of the matter.

The 1.8-metre Teletubbies figure at designer toy store KK Plus. Photo: Handout

The footage showed Cheng’s son leaning lightly against the gold figure, which was not fenced off to the public. A store employee previously told Cheng the child had kicked the statue.

“But now, the employee seems to have misled us about how this incident happened,” said the father of two, who runs a skincare wholesale business.

Cheng said he had visited the store with his wife and two sons on Sunday night, and had stepped out for a moment to take a phone call while there.

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Parents refunded HK$33,000 for designer Teletubby after child accused of breaking it

Parents refunded HK$33,000 for designer Teletubby after child accused of breaking it

After hearing a loud bang, he turned and saw his older son standing next to the shattered Teletubbies statue. “My son was motionless and speechless. He looked very frightened,” Cheng said.

He offered to compensate the store for the figure, which was priced at HK$52,800. The shopkeeper then charged the family HK$33,600.

Cheng said he only realised his son had been wrongly accused after a video of the incident was posted online. The family also found past images taken in the store which showed the item had previously been cordoned off.

Smaller Teletubbies statues at KK Plus. Photo: Felix Wong

“The shop should have placed railings around the statue to protect passers-by and the statue itself since it could have easily fallen to pieces,” he said. “Of course as parents, we also have our responsibility as we failed to keep a close eye on our son.”

Cheng said he had demanded that the company produce evidence his son had indeed kicked the statue before leaning slightly on it, as claimed by staff. He also asked for reimbursement for planned psychiatric consultations for his wife and son, which he said the company had promised to discuss internally.

“My wife and myself are still very angry about the whole drama. Lucas has asked repeatedly why the toy was so horrible,” he said. “We could not help but cry when watching the viral video showing my son leaning against the Teletubbies statue and then it collapsed.”

The Post has contacted KK Plus for comment.

Figures on display at the store in Mong Kok. Photo: Felix Wong

During a visit to the store on Tuesday, the Post observed a range of smaller figurines from 4 to 15cm on shelves all around the shop. Prices for each one varied, ranging between HK$800 and HK$3,000.

Shoppers were also seen walking past the store and taking pictures, with several only stopping to take a look at the location involved in the viral social media post.

Hotel worker Gary Wong Siu-kei said he was only visiting the place to check out the shop that had caused so much controversy.

“I think both parties are responsible,” he said, offering his opinion on the incident.

But Wong’s colleague, Yeung Siu-yan, accused the store of misleading the family and criticised it not cordoning off the statue.

“I think it was wrong that the store lied about the child kicking the display,” he said. “If there had just been a barricade around [the statue], this wouldn’t have happened.”

In a since-withdrawn statement, KK Plus said it would contact the parents to follow up on the matter. It added that an agreement with the family had been reached to compensate the store.

The store had said the retail price of the statue was HK$52,800, which covered costs such as copyright, design and transport. “The company did not charge more than the selling price of the item,” it wrote in an earlier statement on Monday.

The statue had remained in the same spot since November and had not posed any inconvenience to customers before the incident, the store said. However, the retailer also pledged to reassess the layout of its premises.

“We will review the display safety of our exhibits,” it said. “We will learn from this experience to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”

Cheng said his son was in shock from the incident and had taken sick leave from school on Tuesday. “He was very frightened.”

Psychiatrist Sunny Liu Kwong-sun said the parents should downplay the incident to help ease the child’s worries.

“The parents should refrain from deliberately reminding the child of the matter,” he said. “They should let the child carry on his normal daily activities as if nothing had happened. The parents should encourage the child to express his feelings by playing games with him to reduce his panic and negative emotions.”

Liu also advised the family to refer the boy to a psychologist if he still felt traumatised by the incident. “The parents should also learn to control their emotions to teach their children the right values and attitudes. This is also a big lesson for parenting.”

The saga also caught the attention of investors on Tuesday, with the share price of the store’s parent company – Kidsland International Holdings Limited – increasing 86.27 per cent to 28.5 HK cents during intraday trading. Prices closed at 18 cents, up 17.6 per cent from Monday.

Kidsland is a listed toy retailer and distributor in China that also runs certified Lego stores in Hong Kong.

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