Woman who wanted to buy $54 Huawei phone arrested for causing a commotion in Jem store

A sign on the shutter stating that the $54 smartphone promotion had ended at the Huawei store at NEX shopping mall on July 26, 2019. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO

SINGAPORE - A 53-year-old woman was arrested on Friday (July 26) at the Huawei store in Jem shopping mall for causing a commotion.

The woman kicked up a fuss when she was told that she did not obtain a ticket issued by the Huawei staff earlier, which would allow her to buy a Huawei Y6 Pro 2019 phone at the promotional price of $54, the police said.

Under Huawei's National Day promotion, the price of the phone was slashed from $198 to $54 for Singaporeans and permanent residents above the age of 50.

Police said the woman refused to leave the premises despite several requests by the store manager.

The police were alerted to the incident at 10.25am. When they arrived, the woman refused to comply with police instructions to leave and was arrested for criminal trespass.

Thousands of people queued up at 27 stores across Singapore on Friday for Huawei's National Day promotion, only to be told that the phones were out of stock.

The police had to be called in to manage the crowds of disappointed customers at various locations.

In a media statement responding to queries from The Straits Times, Huawei said: "We are truly sorry to have disappointed those who have shown your support from early morning... Y6 Pro 2019 handsets have been sold out island-wide and have recorded an unprecedented surge of demand.

"The company would like to thank members of the public for their continued support and regrets the insufficient supply for the masses."

It added that it is currently "assessing other possibilities to address the situation and will continue to offer attractive promotions for all".

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