From Today's SCMP
A million Maclaren strollers have been voluntarily recalled in the United States because toddlers had fingertips cut off by hinges - but no recall has been issued in Hong Kong.
The recall came after the company received 15 reports in the US of children placing their fingers in the hinges of the strollers, and 12 lost part of their fingers.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Maclaren (US) on Monday announced a voluntary recall of all single and double umbrella-fold strollers sold in the country since 1999.
The Chinese-made strollers' hinge mechanism "poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller", the commission said. It advised parents to stop using them immediately.
Maclaren said its products met various safety standards and the recall was to "alert the operator when opening or closing the stroller of the possible risk of injury".
It said a voluntary recall did not mean a product had been taken off the market, but corrective action would be offered that could be carried out at home.
While Maclaren (US) has agreed to provide US consumers and retailers with a free repair kit to cover the stroller's hinge, Maclaren (HK) has not announced a voluntary recall in the city or in other places such as Britain. It said it would hold a press briefing today.
The models recalled in the US were the Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller, the Maclaren website said. All the models recalled are available in Hong Kong, selling for between HK$1,000 and HK$3,000 each.
A local spokeswoman for Mothercare, a British baby goods retailer with several stores in Hong Kong, said the reported incidents did not happen because the stroller itself was unsafe. Rather, it was because carers were unaware that the babies' fingers were in the hinge.
Yesterday afternoon, staff of a Mothercare branch in Kowloon Bay said they knew of the recall in the US. However, a saleswoman said sales of the product were continuing as normal as a local response by the dealer had yet to be decided. A similar response was obtained from a staff member at Bumps to Babes, another infant goods store.
A spokeswoman for the Customs and Excise Department, which regulates product safety, said the department was seeking information from the Hong Kong dealer about the case. She was unable to say whether local complaints had been received about the stroller.
