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Things are getting out of hand in strait-laced Singapore lately, and it's all because of Hello Kitty, the round-faced cartoon cat with no mouth. On New Year's Day, the city-state's 113 McDonald's outlets began a six-week promotion that offers customers a different pair of Hello Kitty characters each week when they purchase an Extra Value Meal.
Since then, passionate consumers -- mostly teenagers -- have stormed the chain's outlets, offering to pay as much as S$200-$300 (U.S. $119-$179) for each set of the limited-edition dolls, according to Singapore's the Straits Times. Arguments and fistfights have broken out in the long lines, and on Jan. 13, seven people were injured when a mob pressed against one franchise's plate-glass door and shattered it.
In an Associated Press report, McDonald's marketing director Fanny Lai pleaded with Hello Kitty fans to "keep calm" and "follow the directions of our staff on the scene." To make sure they do, the burger chain has brought in police to watch over things -- which means Hello Kitty fanatics had better control themselves. In Singapore, gum chewing and public drunkenness are illegal, caning is a common punishment and possession of narcotics carries a mandatory death sentence.
Hello Kitty and her round-faced friends -- Monkichi, Pippo and Spottie Dottie -- have become a worldwide phenomenon since they were created by Japan's Sanrio Company 25 years ago. Today they adorn everything from purses to waffle irons.
