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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
John James & Graeme Murray

Dad finds son smashed 'scary' £3,400 Tellytubby sculpture - and he'll have to pay for it

A dad was forced to pay £3,400 after his boy smashed a "scary" 6ft tall golden Teletubby sculpture.

The shocking incident happened at a toy shop in Hong Kong when his father went outside for a moment and returned to find the carnage unleashed by the youngster.

CCTV footage was checked by staff at Langham Palace shopping centre which showed his son had leaned on the porcelain ornament and causing it to fall down and smash into lots Tellytub pieces.

The boy's father Cheng was making a call outside the toy shop when he heard the noise and returned to witness the scene.

He found his son was frozen and stared at the broken ornamental toy. He said: "My son was motionless, he was just staring down at the toy.

The damaged Teletubbies sculpture left his parents with a bill for £3,400 (ViralPress)
The boy was left for a moment inside the store (ViralPress)

"My son was so terrified after the incident that he had to skip school. He asked me why the sculpture looked scary.”

Cheng agreed to pay for the shattered toy which was discounted from its retail cost of £5,380 to £3,400.

But Cheng now claims CCTV footage shows his son was 'wrongly accused'

He said staff had first told him that his son had kicked the monstrous sculpture but video footage showed his son merely knocking it over by accident.

His father Cheng now claims CCTV footage shows his son was 'wrongly accused' (ViralPress)

The dad has now called on the shop to refund the money and said that they should have better protected the fragile model in the first place.

Cheng claimed the sculpture should have been labelled to reflect its fragility.

But shop owners KKPlus insisted thee compensation for the broken Tot was "mutually agreed".

They also said the cost of the item was because it was a prototype and reflected the work, design and copyright which had gone into it.

The price tag also included costs for moulding and transport of the item, but store owners said was only a 'display' item which was for viewing only.

The feet of the gold-coloured sculpture and a do not touch' sign (ViralPress)
Cheng agreed to pay for the shattered toy which was discounted from its retail cost of £5,380 to £3,400. (ViralPress)

It was, they said not supposed to withstand any pressure, but the store bosses said they did not charge the family the full price for it and only asked them to pay the cost price.

Their statement reads: “The incident was dealt with immediately and completely resolved, and the payment was proposed by the owner.

“This large-scale decoration is actually a prototype of the first printing. The official pre-sale price is 52,800 HKD (£5,380).

"The cost of the prototype involves various expenses, including copyright and design, research and development and mould making, reinforcement, packaging, transportation and more.

“The decoration is only for viewing and has no toughness to withstand pressure. We did not charge the family more than the cost price of the goods.

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