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      At the beginning of this millennium, the McDonald's chain in Singapore introduced a line of Hello Kitty toys which could be obtained by buying the 'Happy Meal'. This resulted in an unprecedented  demand for the toys. People were willing to stand in endless queues overnight just to gain possession of a set. Click here to see the coveted toys. Many believed that the 'first-come-first-serve' policy of the sale of the toys were the cause of several outbreaks of ungraciousness that often ended in fights. Click here to see a picture from The Straits Times, of the endless queue, and to hear McDonald's defence. 

   Below is an article from The Straits Times dated Feb 3rd 2000.

6 HELD AS HELLO KITTY QUEUES TURN UGLY (Laurel Teo &Palden Tshering)

   Reports stream in about fights, unruly behavior, even molest, as people queued overnight for McDonald's dolls.

6 were arrested and a policeman was injured yesterday as crowds grew unruly at the launch of the fifth pair of Hello Kitty dolls, this time in Japanese wedding costumes, across the island.

    Police said three men were arrested for rioting at the Bankit Road outlet in Bukit Panjang, at 4:30am.

    The trio, aged between 19 and 22 had thrown stools at officers, injuring a sergeant's right wrist.

    Another three men were arrested for disorderly behavior at outlets at Bedok Reservoir Rd, the Lion City Hotel complex, and Lot 1 Shopper's Mall in Choa Chu Kang.

    The SCDF also said it received at least nine phone calls yesterday about fights and people fainting in queues near McDonald's outlets.

    But in most cases, the situation eased by the time officers arrived, and only one person who had fainted was sent to hospital. The Straits Times received at least eight complaints of unruly behavior in Hello Kitty queues.

    A food court supervisor who gave his name only as Jimmy, 37, said he witnessed a fight in the outlet at Hougang Mall, when a man tried to jump queue at 8pm.

    That led to jostling among two or three men, which stopped when police arrived.

    Sales Manager Joshua Soo,34, said rain broke up queues at the Lion City Hotel outlet.

    Engineer Den Poh, 24, sent an email reporting a molest case at the Bangkit Rd outlet at about 7am.

    He said he heard a woman shout "Molest! Molest!" and overheard police giving orders to pursue a man seen running away. A Cisco spokesman said 64 officers were deployed for crowd control at 24 outlets from 4am onwards yesterday at McDonald's request.

    They were unable to cope and police officers had to be roped in to help.

    A police spokesman said extra troops had to be sent to various outlets between 9pm on Wednesday and 6am yesterday.

    He said officers from Neighborhood Police Posts had been monitoring the situation in their area on Wednesday night.

    McDonald's was unable to confirm how many outlets had closed temporarily to help ease the situation. At least two outlets (Lion City & Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10) were closed when The Straits Times checked yesterday.

                                     Click to read article with other Singaporean's views