To celebrate Singapore's 54th birthday, a durian shop gave away hundreds of the spiky fruit to older Singaporeans yesterday.

They were snapped up within 45 minutes.

Yi Liu Ji Durian in Choa Chu Kang gave one XO durian to each senior who presented his or her Pioneer Generation or Merdeka Generation card.

About 540kg of durians were given out to about 450 senior citizens.

The scene was a far cry from Huawei's recent National Day promotion that went awry, when thousands queued up for hours for a special deal on a smartphone, only to leave empty-handed as stocks were limited.

Yesterday, a security guard on site did not have much to do. People were cheerful and lined up in an orderly manner to receive their fruit, which some ate on the spot.