iPhone 4S China release cancelled after fight breaks out
Police seal off the area as thousands of customers queue up outside an Apple store in Beijing’s upmarket Sanlitun shopping district, in Beijing early morning on Jan. 13, 2012. Thousands of Chinese tech fans queued in freezing temperatures as the new iPhone 4S went on sale, sparking violent scenes when staff at the Beijing Apple store refused to open its doors.
As police prowled the grounds of one of Beijing's most prominent retail spaces hours past the opening melee that soured the iPhone 4S China release, Apple, Inc, announced that it had halted sales of the phone at retail locations in China.
In a statement to several outlets, a spokeswoman for Apple said: "The demand for iPhone 4S has been incredible, and our stores in China have already sold out."
"Unfortunately we were unable to open our store at Sanlitun due to the large crowd, and to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, iPhone will not available in our retail stores in Beijing and Shanghai for the time being. Customers can still order iPhone through the Apple Online Store, or buy at China Unicom and other authorized resellers."