Trader fined over toys

By Lia Bichel
THOUSANDS of dangerous toys and dummies have been seized from a Victorian company operating with a store on Frankston-Dandenong Road, Dandenong.
Victoria’s Supreme Court has restrained Victorian discount retailer Abesta International Pty Ltd from trading after it was found to be supplying dangerous toys and baby products.
The court made the decision after product safety inspectors seized more than 10,000 unsafe toys and dummies from the company, which was trading as Spare Change in Dandenong, Thomastown, Morwell, Geelong and Carrum Downs.
Consumer Affairs Minister Tony Robinson said there were strict mandatory safety standards in place across the state for toys and dummies to protect babies and toddlers from the risk of injury and even death.
“In this case, the toys and dummies seized did not meet compulsory safety standards,” he said.
“The products were poorly designed and breakable, posing an unacceptable risk of cutting or choking babies and toddlers.”
The court ordered Abesta International and its former managing director Mr Ze Min Hu, also known as Simon Hu, to restrain from trading and comply with a series of demands worth more than $130,000.
The company was ordered to put in place a strict compliance program to ensure it complied with Victoria’s product safety laws.
It was also ordered to pay to have the dangerous products destroyed, and publish costly full-colour public notices in daily newspapers informing consumers of the court’s orders and warning of the hazards posed by the unsafe products.
Mr Robinson said some of the 10,000 products seized from Abesta included a ‘Happy Train’ which was a plastic battery operated toy with small parts that easily broke away, presenting a choking hazard. Another; the ‘Lovely Baby’ is a pre-school, plastic, battery-operated, interactive toy that also has small parts that easily break away presenting a choking hazard. A ‘Flashing Pacifier Whistle’ is another banned toy as it is an imitation baby’s dummy that presents a risk of cuts or lacerations to the mouth. Its cord presents a risk of strangulation.
Dandenong Spare Change manager Raymond Tsai said he had not received any complaints from people who had bought the products and assured that there were no more dodgy items in the store.
Mr Robinson advised consumers who bought any of these products from a Spare Change outlet to return them to the store for a full refund or to dispose of the product safely.
Parents and carers wanting more information about safe toys can call the Toy and Nursery Safety Line on freecall 1300 36 48 94 for important product safety information.
Information and images of banned or dangerous toys are available on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website www.consumer.vic.gov.au