Haidilao: Chinese restaurant offers compensation after teenager has a wee in hotpot burner

The sickening scene, filmed at the Haidilao eaterie in Shanghai, eastern China, on February 24 surfaced recently on social media.

Now the restaurant has said it will pay compensation to about 4,000 diners.

“We fully understand that the distress caused to our customers by this incident cannot be fully compensated for by any means," the company, which has branches across China and the US, said in a statement obtained by BBC News and Reuters. "We are willing to do our utmost to take responsibility."

Police tracked down the post's creator and on March 8 announced they had arrested the yobs, named only as Tang and Wu, both aged 17, accused of public indecency.

The footage shows Wu standing on the restaurant table apparently peeing down into the burner in the centre of the table used to keep the hotpot warm. Tang, who was not filmed, is also facing charges, said Shanghai Public Security Bureau. It is understood the pair staged the stunt to get likes on social media.

Restaurant managers told local media they had disinfected the table and burner but had thrown out all the dishes, glasses, pots, chopsticks and cutlery.

They added: "We thank the police for quickly and efficiently solving the case and helping our business. We strongly condemn such unethical and illegal acts, and we reserve the right to pursue our legal rights against malicious customers. Given that the perpetrators are minors, we call for some degree of leniency giving them a chance to learn lessons from it and grow."

Story: NewsX