Swedish furniture giant IKEA has hit international news headlines for all the wrong reasons. At least two toddler deaths and a number of accidents have been reported as a result of MALM-range chests-of-drawers toppling over. The cases, reported in the United States, have led to IKEA supplying customers there with special anchoring kits to ensure these items of furniture are now are properly affixed to walls.
In Portugal, Diário de Notícias reports that MALM-range chests of the heights that have caused accidents are not on sale, but a quick internet search disproves this – showing that both a six-drawer chest of drawers, of the type that killed a two-year-old after falling on a bed, and a three-drawer model which caused the death of a 23-month-old, are advertised and available online.
Inquiries to IKEA Portugal over whether the firm will start supplying safety kits to Portuguese buyers of these chests and other MALM products have not yet resulted in a response, adds the paper.
