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 A QUESTION FOR ADULTS: The Austin Powers
doll that asks something that can make a grown-up blush. The toy set on
sale in stores here.
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- WOULD you let your 10-year-old child play with a toy
that says something that can make an adult blush?
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- The doll, which resembles Mike Myers' character in Austin
Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, is on sale here.
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- When you press a button, the doll, which has a voice
chip, says: "Do I make you feel horny, baby, do I?"
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- Most parents interviewed by The New Paper seemed to be
stunned that it's on sale.
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- Said Madam Lee Hua Peng, whose son is eight: "I'm
shocked that... department stores are selling such sexually suggestive
toys.
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- "How can it be okay for my son to go around saying
horny or shag?"
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- Mrs Helena Teo said: "What am I supposed to tell
my 10-year-old when he asks what shag or horny means?"
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- But not every parent shared this view.
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- Said filmmaker Eric Khoo, who has four young sons: "It
is harmless. Compared with some other toys... which are graphic in their
depiction of violence, I would much rather my sons played with the Austin
Powers toys."
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- Department stores here, such as Takashimaya and Metro,
sell the action figures.
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- Toys R Us Singapore brought in the toys, but sold them
only to adult collectors who pre-ordered them.
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- A spokesman for the company said that fewer than 20 sets
of the toys have been sold.
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- But McFarlane Toys, which produced the controversial
figures, said the "horny" figure shouldn't have been in Toys
R Us in the first place.
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- McFarlane said it was an adult version that was meant
to be sent to specialty shops.
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- Department stores were supposed to sell only the more
family-oriented doll that says: "Would you fancy a shag?"
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- Oh yes, that has family values written all over it.
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- Here, the adult version is found only in special comicbook
shops such as Comic Art Gallery.
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- Said its proprietor, Mr Eugene Wu: "We don't sell
the adult version to kids who ask for Austin Powers toys. To them, I sell
the cleaner version."
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- Asked whether even the cleaner version is suitable for
children aged 10 and above - which the label on the toy says it is - Mr
Wu replied: "The word shag has been approved by the authorities for
publication in the newspapers.
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- "So I think it should be okay."
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- Right or wrong, the toys, especially the "horny"
figure, are much sought after among collectors.
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- Comic Art Gallery is selling copies of that figure for
$50.
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- And it's selling out fast, Mr Wu said.
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- IN THE US
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- AN American mother has handed one of these dolls to the
police, complaining that it directed sexual innuendoes at children.
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- Reacting to the complaint, Toys R Us in the US told stores
across the nation to remove the figure from their shelves.
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- IN HONGKONG
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- HONGKONG education authorities and social groups have
called for a ban on the dolls - there are six characters from the movie
1 - saying they are a bad influence.
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- Opposition Democrat legislator Albert Ho told the Hongkong
Standard newspaper: "It is socially... undesirable to have these dolls
sold to children. They should be banned."
The
Electric New Paper
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