Teenagers Urinate in Hot Pot at Famous Restaurant... Court Rules on 'Image Damage' Lawsuit

In February at a Shanghai hot pot restaurant
Two teenagers filmed urinating into a hot pot
Chinese court: "Parents must pay 400 million won in damages"
Court recognizes parental liability

The parents of two teenage boys who committed a "urine attack" at a branch of China's famous hot pot franchise, Haidilao, have been ordered to pay more than 400 million won in damages.

In March, a video showing two teenage boys urinating into a hot pot at a hot pot restaurant in Shanghai, China, spread on the Chinese social networking service Weibo. Screenshot from Weibo

According to the BBC and other sources on September 16 (local time), the incident occurred in February at a Haidilao restaurant in Shanghai. At the time, 17-year-old Tang and Wu climbed onto a table inside the restaurant and filmed themselves urinating into a hot pot, then posted the footage online, sparking significant controversy.

The controversial video shows one of the boys, still wearing shoes, climbing onto the table and urinating into the hot pot, while the other recorded the act. The incident was reported to the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, and both individuals received administrative detention from the police.

Haidilao responded immediately after the incident to restore hygiene and customer trust. The company replaced all pots and tableware in the restaurant and completed a full disinfection of the premises. In addition, for 13 days following the incident, Haidilao fully refunded the meal costs of all customers who visited the restaurant and provided compensation amounting to ten times the meal price. It is reported that approximately 4,100 customers visited the restaurant during this period.

Subsequently, Haidilao filed a lawsuit against the two teenagers and their parents, seeking damages of around 4 billion won for brand image damage and business losses.

As a result, on September 12, the court ruled that Tang and Wu must pay Haidilao 2.2 million yuan (approximately 430 million won) in compensation. Specifically, this includes 2 million yuan (about 380 million won) for business losses and brand reputation damage, 130,000 yuan (about 25 million won) for replacing damaged cooking equipment and cleaning costs, and 70,000 yuan (about 13 million won) for legal representation fees.

Notably, the court acknowledged that both defendants are minors and held their parents jointly liable for negligence in supervising their children. However, the court determined that the tenfold compensation paid by Haidilao to customers was a voluntary corporate decision and that the defendants are not obligated to reimburse this amount.