Keep your child away from Chinese toy phones

If you bought your child a cheap toy mobile phone that is made in China, dump it because the phone may explode.

These phones that have flooded the markets are extremely hazardous to children below three years of age. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has sent out an alert across the country, including Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Delhi, about these phones.
A test report from Chenghai in Guangdong, China, indicated that the toy mobile phones made of plastic (with or without loop, sound, and light functions) could be dangerous, a DRI officer said.

“The report concluded that the batteries being used in the phones (AA size) were counterfeit and not suitable for children below three,” the officer said.

At least 50 lakh such phones have been shipped into the country over the past couple of months through the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai and other ports, including the ones in Chennai, Vishakhapatnam, and Kolkata, he said.

Also, a search is on in the entire country to confiscate the phones and prevent thousands of children from being injured. Officers have seized 10 lakh phones from the Crawford Market area in the past three days. Six people have been detained.

The tests, conducted on March 17 and April 8, revealed a difference in the battery compartment construction. “The battery compartment of button cell is glued and the battery cannot be replaced,” the officer said.