Boys arrested

Pee scandal: restaurant refunds thousands of customers

According to the restaurant in Shanghai, it cleaned and disinfected all the fire pans and cutlery in the branch in question.(Bild: AFP/JADE GAO)

A restaurant chain in China famous for its firepot wants to refund more than 4,000 customers after two drunken teenagers named Tang and Wu (both 17 years old) peed in the broth and the video made the rounds on the Internet. 

According to the restaurant operator Haidilao, which also has branches outside China, and the police, the crime took place on February 24 in Shanghai in a private area of the restaurant. According to the authorities, the suspects are two 17-year-old boys who were allegedly drunk at the time of the crime. They are facing civil court proceedings.

Days of investigation
In a letter of apology, the restaurant explained that it had discovered the video and thus the incident four days later on the internet. However, the time and place of the crime were initially unclear. It was not until March 6 that the scene of the crime was located in a branch in Shanghai.

The restaurant then cleaned and disinfected all the pots and cutlery in the branch.

We are fully aware that there is no way we can fully compensate our customers for the suffering caused by this incident. We are prepared to do our utmost to take responsibility.

Das Unternehmen in seiner Erklärung

4109 people who ate there between the day of the incident and March 8 will now get their money back on presentation of the bill. In addition, ten times the corresponding amount is being offered as compensation.