Bootleg IS toys pulled from Singapore store

Bootleg IS toys pulled from Singapore store

This follows concerns that the counterfeit Lego toys featuring IS fighters could lead to the glorification of the terror group.

Isis
PETALING JAYA:
A store in Singapore has removed counterfeit Lego sets featuring Islamic State (IS) fighters following concerns that the toys could lead to the glorification of the terror group.

Singapore daily The Straits Times (ST) said 8 Series, a local retail store in People’s Park Complex, had pulled the toys from its shelves on Wednesday night.

Store manager Jack Lim was quoted as saying that fewer than 20 of the sets had been sold since the store began selling them in August.

Likewise, online marketplace Carousell, which had shown two listings for the toys on Wednesday morning, took down the entries later that afternoon.

The toys in question, known as “Falcon Commando” sets, reportedly pitch “information intelligence officers” against IS jihadists.

Russian international television network RT.com said images on the boxes show IS fighter figurines tossing dynamite sticks and launching a flaming oil barrel from a catapult, and a militant fighter armed with a chainsaw looking at a man’s decapitated head.

According to ST, the sets were being sold for between S$3.80 and S$25 on Carousell and at 8 Series.

The “Falcon Commando” sets were reportedly sold in Malaysia as well, with Perak schoolteacher Mahnun Mat Isa saying he had found the China-made toys and reported the matter to the police and state Islamic council.

“I came to know about it when my son who was playing with the toy showed me the ‘terrorist’ character holding a banner which displayed the words ‘Allah’ and ‘Muhammad’,” he reportedly said.

“I ask the authorities not to freely allow the entry of toys that touch on religious sensitivities in this country.”

Following the incident, the toys were pulled from e-commerce site AliExpress, which ST noted distributes these products internationally.

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