Monday, August 06, 2007

Thai police punished with Hello Kitty armbands

Police wearing bright pink armbands, adorned with a Hello Kitty motif and a couple of hearts, on top of their usual uniform?? I thought this was too weird to be true, but apparently not.

Police in Thai capital Bangkok are to be punished for breaking police rules by being forced to wear one of these armbands for several days.

Police officers caught littering, parking in a prohibited area, or arriving late — amongst other misdemeanors — will also be forced to stay in the division office with the deputy chief all day, said Police Col. Pongpat Chayaphan.

"Simple warnings no longer work. This new twist is expected to make them feel guilt and shame and prevent them from repeating the offence, no matter how minor," said Pongpat, acting chief of the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok.

"Hello Kitty is a cute icon for young girls. It's not something macho police officers want covering their biceps," Pongpat said.

What is Hello Kitty, in case you've never come across it?

The cartoon character Hello Kitty was first introduced by Japanese company Sanrio in 1974. The cute round-faced cat has become an Asia-wide marketing phenomenon, with Hello Kitty products particularly popular with children and young women. The cat can be found adorning products such as diamond-studded jewellery, Fender guitars and digital cameras to lunch boxes, T-shirts and stationery. Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Mariah Carey have been spotted with Hello Kitty gear. Enough said.



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

For Gawd's sake don't show Noddy this. Him and his bloody Pink!

Claire said...

Too late, he's already written about it - no pic though!

McNoddy said...

I will link the two of us on this.... and Dickie you are getting slow... must be old age!

Anonymous said...

Since Muay Thai became a sport, all boxers are required to wear Muay Thai gloves to fight Muay Thai. The main reason is because the gloves help to reduce the high force impact, in order to protect your fist and wrist and also your opponent from a really bad injury.
see more details: calabrese