SALE OF HELLO KITTY DOLLS IN FAST FOOD OUTLETS

Mr Goh Choon Kang asked the Minister for Home Affairs what steps the Police will take to prevent ugly scenes from happening again in respect of people queueing for Hello Kitty dolls.

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, after huge crowds and long queues formed on the first 2 launches on 1st and 6th January 2000, McDonald's, on Police advice, employed CISCO and private security guards to regulate queues for subsequent launches. However, these proved to be inadequate. McDonald's was particularly ill-prepared for the large crowds which turned up overnight for the 27th January 2000 launch. Some radio stations regularly reported the size of the queues, leading to even more Singaporeans rushing to join the queues.

Following the 27th January 2000 launch, on Police advice, McDonald's came up with a system that extends the period of sale, and which ensures that all demands for the last pair of Hello Kitty dolls would be met. The final launch on 3rd February 2000 under this new system took place without incident.

Organizers of promotional events that are likely to attract large crowds should act responsibly by putting in place arrangements and procedures to ensure that their event does not lead to law and order problems. They should also be adequately prepared for the various contingencies that may arise and be ready to handle them properly. They should hire security guards to maintain public order. Police would consider charging the organizers for the cost of deployment should the private event lead to severe law and order problems due to a lack of careful planning and despite Police advice that they should hire adequate security guards for the event.

The general public participating in such events also have an important role to play. They should queue in a patient and orderly manner, and not breach the peace. The mass media can also play their part by not creating a sense of panic among interested participants.

The Police takes a serious view of any breaches committed by individuals and will not hesitate to take action to arrest and prosecute persons who by their behaviour incite public disorder or break the law.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Sir, did the Police anticipate that law and order could be a problem with the sale of Hello Kitty dolls at McDonald's?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: As I have said, the first two launches were relatively incident-free. The first launch had one incident where a doctor and three other persons were involved in the queue, but that was within the premises. After the two launches, Police, in fact, spoke to McDonald's and advised McDonald's to hire security guards at the five drive-in outlets. But, of course, ultimately, on the fifth launch on 27th January, nobody anticipated that the crowds would swell up to about 200,000. But I think along the way, McDonald's, on the advice of Police, had taken precautions.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: I wonder why the Police failed to anticipate the law and order problem created by the McDonald's sale of Hello Kitty dolls. But I understand that the Police could well anticipate that any public speeches made by Opposition Party members may cause social law and order problem and thereby it denies the issue of permits. Would the Minister of State explain why the Police had failed to anticipate in this case, but yet could anticipate what will happen if an Opposition politician makes a speech in public?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Does an Opposition party member who makes a speech in public also sells Hello Kitty toys that would arouse that passion? I think the point here is that the two events are quite different. In the Hello Kitty sale, it was a promotional event and queues were anticipated. But in Singapore, we do have long queues and other events where large crowds gather, but if there is adequate security, there are no problems. In this case, McDonald's, in fact, employed about 150 security guards for the outlets but despite that precaution, problems still arose.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, when there are big crowds of course it is good publicity to a commercial firm but I think the issue here is whether or not such an event would breach the peace and cause disturbance and hurt to members of the public. The breach of peace in fact ---

Mr Speaker: Order. Mr Chiam, can you ask your supplementary question? You are making a speech.

Mr Chiam See Tong: All right. Did the Police advise the commercial firm causing these problems to change their method of distribution of the Hello Kitty dolls to prevent breach of peace and injury to members of the public?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: Sir, in fact, this is what exactly happened. It was because of Police's consultation and advice that the final launch on the 3rd of February was done differently. Otherwise, it would have been done the same way and there would have been problems.