‘Party weapons’ for children defended
Christchurch discount chain store Just Incredible has defended selling toy ‘‘nun chucks’’ marketed as ‘‘party weapons’’ for five-yearold children.
Just Incredible owner Dave Ellis, of Christchurch, said he had no concerns about selling the $2.99 nun chucks which consist of two pieces of plastic linked by a short metal chain.
‘‘I think the bag it comes in is more dangerous in terms of possible suffocation,’’ he said. ‘‘The nun chucks are plastic and kids can wave them around and maybe they could hit an eye but to us the nun chucks are part of our dress-up range; they’re not really toys. Unless the kid was doing karate, they wouldn’t know how to use them properly. I wouldn’t think they’d be able to strangle anyone.’’
Ellis added that selling nun chucks to children was ‘‘no different’’ to selling a cap gun, a sword or a pirate cutlass.
‘‘We’ve had complaints from people about toys we’re selling, like guns, that promote violence but then we also get complaints that our Halloween goods are the work of the devil,’’ Ellis said. ‘‘This week we’ve had complaints about the giant tiger heads in our stores after the death of a zoo keeper at Hamilton Zoo.’’
Ellis said Just Incredible abided by the law and checked products for any small parts which could be a potential choking hazard.
There are no mandatory restrictions on toys other than in respect of small parts and lead content, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) said.
‘‘However, the Consumer Guarantees Act requires that all products are safe as one of the guarantees. The issue of safety of this product would appear to be related to the description of it as a ‘party weapon’ and the age labelling of it as being suitable for children over five.’’
The current laws allow the sale of such products as toy guns, machetes, knives and assorted battle equipment – ‘‘both earthly and alien’’ – the MBIE spokesperson said.
‘‘There are also many toy products which are distasteful for other reasons but which are not prohibited. Unless there is a potential safety risk associated with them, or a description which misleads the consumer as to the properties of the product, there is no basis for restricting the supply of such products under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1986.’’
Ellis said he would take another look at the nun chucks.
‘‘If there are any doubts at all as to their safety, we’ll just yank them off the shelves,’’ he said.