Haidilao will compensate over 4,000 customers after two youths allegedly urinate into hotpot
Haidilao, China’s popular hotpot chain, has announced that it will compensate over 4,000 customers who dined at one of its Shanghai outlets after a shocking video surfaced showing two teenagers allegedly urinating into a hotpot broth.
Viral video shows teen standing on table & urinating into hotpot
A now-viral video captured the disturbing incident, which reportedly took place in a private room at the restaurant on 24 Feb.
In the clip, a teenager can be seen standing on the table, appearing to urinate directly into the bubbling broth. The table is littered with dirty dishes and half-finished drinks, suggesting that the group had just completed their meal.
Source: Singtao
Loud laughter can be heard in the background as the shocking act unfolds.
Outraged netizens condemned the behaviour, with many demanding legal action against those involved.
Haidilao staff failed to detect incident
On Wednesday (12 March), Haidilao revealed in a statement that the situation arose due to staff members failing to detect and respond to the incident promptly, suggesting a lack of proper training within the company.
Source: Weibo
The company was able to confirm the outlet’s location in downtown Shanghai on 6 March and reported the case to the police in Jinyang, Sichuan.
Authorities have since detained the two 17-year-olds involved.
Some speculate incident was staged
While many netizens were enraged by the footage, some speculated that the teen may not have actually urinated into the hotpot, but instead poured a liquid from above to create an illusion.
Despite this uncertainty, Haidilao has stated that it will take legal action against those responsible, whether the incident was real or staged.
Source: Xiaohongshu
Translation: Hello! We’ve reported the video to multiple police departments and are fully cooperating with authorities to investigate. Regardless of whether it’s staged or not, we will pursue legal action against those involved. We also urge responsible monitoring and ask that such videos not be shared to help maintain a clean online environment.
The company has not disclosed the total amount of compensation to affected customers but reassured the public that it is taking steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
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Featured image adapted from The Star and Weibo.
