(Adnkronos) – The two 17-year-olds who urinated in the broth at a hotpot restaurant in Shanghai have been sentenced to pay 2.2 million yuan (about 284,000 euros) to two Chinese restaurant companies. The incident, which took place last February at a branch of the Haidilao chain, the largest in China, sparked outrage after the two posted a video of the act – carried out while heavily intoxicated – on social media. There is no evidence that anyone consumed the contaminated broth, but Haidilao has offered refunds and compensation to thousands of customers who dined in the following days.
Last Friday, a Shanghai court ruled that the two teenagers had violated the companies’ property rights and reputation through “acts of insult,” contaminating the dishes and “causing strong public discomfort.” The parents were held responsible for failing to fulfill their duties of protection and will therefore have to bear the compensation, which includes two million yuan (about 258,000 euros) for operational and reputational damages, 130,000 (17,000 euros) for loss of tableware and cleaning costs, and 70,000 (9,000 euros) in legal fees.
The court clarified that any further compensation offered by Haidilao to customers, in addition to the reimbursement of the bill, were “voluntary business decisions” and should not be borne by the two boys. The chain has reimbursed more than 4,000 customers and replaced all equipment, carrying out cleaning and disinfection work.
