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A Hong Kong toy store, home to a previously intact life-sized golden Teletubby, has refunded the father of a boy who accidentally knocked the Teletubby over.

Apologised, refunded, and removed all large toys

The toy store, KKPlus, had initially published a statement on its Facebook on May 23, claiming that the incident had been resolved.

According to Hong Kong Free Press, the statement also explained that the doll had been in the same spot since November 2021, and that it "had not brought any inconvenience to customers".

The statement was later deleted.

A day later, Kidsland International, the parent company of KKPlus, subsequently shared another statement stating that it has apologised to the family, The Standard reported.

It has also fully refunded them, and "will immediately make improvements to avoid similar incidents from happening".

The store received widespread backlash on social media, when CCTV footage revealed that the doll had toppled over easily.

Netizens had questioned why the 1.8m-tall doll had not been better secured or cordoned off.

KKPlus' manager also acknowledged that the store could have taken better precautions. It has since removed all toys that are over 1m tall, and will be conducting a review of the incident, Hong Kong Free Press reported.

What happened

Photos of the family standing around the shattered remains of Laa-Laa the Teletubby went viral on Facebook.

The father, known only by his surname Cheng, had to fork out HK$33,600 (S$5,879.52) after staff initially told him that his son had kicked the doll over.

However, CCTV footage depicting the contrary surfaced online — the five-year-old boy did not kick the statue over, but had leaned on it, causing it to tumble.

Netizens who had previously accused the boy for his perceived mischief then turned their anger to the store.

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Top photo from Hong Kong emergency report and discussion area Facebook group