Dangerous fake Frozen dolls seized in Manchester
Company fined thousands of pounds following investigation by Trading Standards
A Cheetham Hill company and its director have been fined nearly £6,000 after Manchester City Council Trading Standards Officers discovered they had imported dangerous dolls - based on the Disney cartoon Frozen.
The dolls contained parts that were not sufficiently secure, allowing easy access to button cell batteries inside. Button cell batteries if swallowed by a child have the potential to cause death or serious injury.
C&Q Trading Limited, Derby Street, Cheetham Hill, had failed to undertake the required testing of the toys to ensure they were safe.
The company was fined a total of £4,000, and order to pay £827.30 in costs and a victim surcharge of £170, at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 18 May 2016.
The director of C&Q Trading Limited Ms Jianxin Chen, 47, Moston, was handed a 2 month suspended sentence and ordered to pay cost of £827.30 and a victim surcharge of £942.30 for importing the toys.
Manchester City Council has been granted permission to destroy the items.
Councillor Nigel Murphy, Manchester City Council executive member for neighbourhoods, said: “It is never acceptable to sell dangerous items to anyone but this case is particularly alarming as the goods involved were intended for children – hugely increasing the risk the products posed.
“The fine issued to C&Q Trading Limited, along with the suspended sentence given to its director, illustrate just how seriously we take our duty to protect the public. If we suspect items are being sold which put the public at risk rest assured our trading standards officers will not ‘let it go’”.