Shanghai Teenagers fined Over Hotpot Contamination Incident
Shanghai, China – Two 17-year-old teenagers, identified as Wu and Tang, and their parents have been ordered to apologise and pay a fine of £227,000 (2.2m yuan) after being found liable for urinating into a hotpot broth at a Haidilao restaurant in Shanghai. The ruling comes from ShanghaiS Huangpu District People’s Court, as reported by Chinese state media.
The incident occurred earlier this year when Wu and Tang took turns urinating into the hotpot dish in a private dining room. A video of the act was posted on social media, with the teenagers admitting the act was “intentional” and acknowledging the potential for negative consequences, according to CCTV News.
Following the video’s viral spread, Haidilao issued an apology and stated it had “destroyed and replaced” all affected utensils. The restaurant chain also refunded over 4,000 dine-in orders and provided additional compensation to customers, equivalent to ten times their original payment.
The teenagers and their parents were sued in march by two catering companies, believed to be linked to Haidilao, seeking a public apology and 23 million yuan (£2.4m) in damages for business losses and reputational harm.
The court deemed the full refunds justified as directly related to the incident, but considered the extra compensation a “voluntary business decision.” The court mandated a public apology in designated newspapers from the teenagers and their parents, alongside the £227,000 fine levied against the parents.
The ruling underscores the potential for “heavy penalties” for parental failure to adequately supervise their children, according to an editorial in China Comment, a magazine associated with the ruling Communist Party. the editorial characterized the act as ”extreme disregard for others’ rights and a blatant challenge to social norms.”
The incident follows other recent food safety concerns in China, including the arrest of a 63-year-old man in Hong Kong in August for allegedly adding urine to soft drinks in supermarkets.
Hotpot is a popular Chinese dish consisting of broth simmered at the table, with diners cooking meats and vegetables directly in the broth.
