By Yating Yang

Copyright scmp

Two Chinese teenagers have been ordered to pay 2.2 million yuan (US$308,000) in compensation after filming themselves urinating into a hotpot dish at a popular restaurant.
The pair posted a video of their “prank” online, and the outlet, one of the Haidilao nationwide chain, was forced to refund more than 4,000 diners.
The incident took place on February 24, when two 17-year-olds, surnamed Tang and Wu, were dining in a private room at one of the chain’s restaurants in Shanghai.
The drunken duo climbed onto the dining table and urinated into the hotpot while one of them recorded the act on video.

Wu later posted the footage to social media, where it went viral and sparked public outrage, particularly over food safety.
“I will not go to Haidilao for now. I do not want to eat from hotpot dishes which have been peed in by other people, or post my happy moments of eating hotpot but get comments like someone peed in there,” one online observer said.
The two individuals involved were placed under administrative detention following the incident.
To reassure customers and restore its reputation, the Haidilao branch issued an apology on social media on March 12, promising that all tableware used at the restaurant had been destroyed and replaced, and the premises had been disinfected.
Haidilao also announced it would fully refund all meal expenses and provide cash compensation equal to 10 times the order amount to each of the 4,109 customers who dined during the impacted period.

On March 14, the restaurant filed a civil lawsuit against Tang, Wu and their parents, holding them legally accountable and seeking over 23 million yuan (US$3 million) in compensation for property damage, operational losses and reputational harm.
On September 12, the Shanghai Huangpu District People’s Court ruled that Tang, Wu and their respective parents must jointly pay Haidilao a total of 2.2 million yuan.
The ruling includes 130,000 yuan (US$18,000) for damaged utensils and cleaning fees, 2 million yuan for operational and reputational losses, and an additional 70,000 yuan for legal expenses.

Many people on social media applauded the penalty.
One person said: “The verdict is fair, but honestly, they should have received a longer sentence.”
Another said: “They sued for 23 million yuan, but the court only awarded 2.2 million yuan. That is very lenient,”.
“This must be the most expensive pee in history,” said a third.
This incident is reminiscent of another controversy in May 2023, when a child was caught spitting into a chopstick sterilisation machine at a college in China.