SINGAPORE - Nearly 10,000 people turned up at 14 7-Eleven outlets islandwide on Friday (Dec 9) to queue for the latest Hello Kitty ez-link charms.

The charms, which function like ez-link cards, come in two designs and cost $24.90 each.

Each customer is limited to only four charms, and the charms do not come with stored value.

At the 7-Eleven outlet at Block 807, Yishun Ring Road, some fans started queuing for the trinkets from midnight, even though the charms were launched only at 7am, Shin Min Daily News reported on Friday.

The queue snaked to a nearby coffee shop, with many coming with a friend for company.

A man in the queue at a store in Chua Chu Kang , who gave his name as Mr Hong, told Shin Min that he had started queueing from 7.30am.

The 55-year-old, who works at a herb store, said he managed to get his hands on two EZ-Charms only 40 minutes later.

"When I reached the store, there were already nearly 200 people in the queue. When I left after buying, there were still over 100 people waiting," he said.

Shin Min understands that the charms are sold out at at least one store - the one at Block 768, Woodlands Avenue 6.

More than 4,000 of the limited-edition charms were sold by 11am on Friday.

A spokesman for EZ-Link, which manages the sale, distribution and management of ez-link cards, told Shin Min that the Hello Kitty charms were launched in April last year.

There have been four designs so far.

The company did not comment on sales figures.

It added that customers who are interested in new products can refer to the EZ-Link Facebook page for more updates.

Other than Hello Kitty EZ-Charms, EZ-Link has previously sold Star Wars and Batman V Superman charms.

The full list of stores selling the charms can be found on 7-Eleven Singapore's Facebook page.