Apology, refund end Teletubby episode

A Mong Kok toyshop apologized and refunded HK$33,600 yesterday to the parents of a five-year-old boy who accidentally knocked over a HK$52,800 Teletubbies figure, causing an uproar on the internet.

Kidsland International, the parent company of KKplus toyshop, said it has apologized to the Cheng family and expressed its sympathy to the parents and their young sons.

"We have also already fully refunded the compensation to them and will immediately make improvements to avoid similar incidents from happening," said the Hong Kong-based Kidsland.

Mr Cheng, the father of the five-year-old, paid HK$33,600 on Sunday evening to the designer toy store in Langham Place after his son was accused by shop staff of shattering the 1.8-meter Teletubbies doll into pieces.

The father accepted Kidsland International's statement as reasonable, adding he has already spoken on the phone with the shop manager.

But he refused the shop's offer to give his son a gift, as he said he is not looking for advantages from the incident.

Recalling the incident, Cheng said he went outside the shop with his three-year-old younger son to take a phone call when he suddenly heard a loud bang behind him.

As he turned around, he saw his five-year-old son staring at the figure, which was beheaded, with its arms falling from the body in pieces on the floor.

The staff told him and his wife that their son was seen kicking the figure and asked them for compensation of HK$33,600, instead of its retail price of HK$52,800. Cheng agreed as he believed it was his son's fault, the mother said on Facebook.

But after footage from a nearby security camera was unearthed, the couple started to suspect that they had wrongly blamed their son after being misled by staff at the toyshop.

A video showed that instead of kicking the Teletubbies figure, the five-year-old backed into the figure as he tried to avoid an approaching crowd and slightly leaned on the figure before it was knocked over.

Netizens blamed the parents for not watching their children closely but later most netizens switched sides and said the shop should take responsibility for not securing the exhibit properly.

Cheng said his son was still traumatized by the incident and took a day off school yesterday.

"He asked me three times why the doll was so terrifying.

"I am also feeling guilty as I blamed my son first. I will be bringing my son out for outdoor activities in the next two weeks and let him calm down first before explaining the whole incident to him," he said.

Psychiatrist Victor Ching Wai-keung said the parents should avoid blaming the child too much, but they can remind him not to lean or touch anything in the street and stick close to his parents.

Parents can share with their children their past experiences and feelings after similar incidents to let children know they are not alone, he added.

"For young children, it is easy for them to come up with a sense of remorse and regret in their psychological development. They would think it is their fault when others speak loudly," Ching said.

"Parents can also discuss with their child the response of shop staff and let them know there might be a misunderstanding and it was not him being naughty that caused the incident."

KKplus published a statement on Facebook on Monday night, claiming that the incident has already been resolved with the agreement of both sides after the parents offered to compensate the shop.

But the statement was deleted from its Facebook page hours later.

The toy shop opened for business as usual yesterday, and some customers still visited the store with their children.

Manager Lui admitted it was the shop's fault for not securing the figure, and said the company cared about children.

"No one wanted this incident to happen," he said. "We will review all of our procedures."

Barrister Albert Luk Wai-hung said the shop should not have sought compensation.

Children under 10 years old do not need to bear legal responsibilities as they are assumed to act without a criminal motive.