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Fran Lu

Two teenagers have been detained for urinating in a hotpot dish at a well-known restaurant chain outlet in Shanghai then posting footage of their drunken act online.
Video footage of two men standing on a dining table while peeing into a hotpot soup in a private dining room in a Haidilao shop has triggered public outrage and concerns over food safety.
The chain has more than 1,300 branches across China.
The eatery in the video reported the case to the authorities, and on March 8, Shanghai police announced that they had detained two 17-year-old migrant workers in connection with the incident.
The police said they urninated in the hotpot after getting drunk on February 24, and one of them filmed it and posted the video online.
Haidilao said the shop involved had changed all its cooking utensils and was thoroughly cleaning.

The restaurant initially said it did not plan to take action against the teenagers to “give the minors an opportunity to learn from their mistakes”.
It then changed its attitude and promised to hold them legally accountable, after their response caused shock and distrust among diners.
“I will not go to Haidilao for now. I do not want to eat from hotpot dishes which have been peed by other people, or post my happy moments of eating hotpot but get comments like ‘someone peed in there’,” one online observer said.
“They must be punished. If not, other minors will copy their behaviours knowing there would not be any consequences,” another commented.
“My first impression of Haidilao is now linked with urine,” said a third.
A member of Haidilao staff tried to placate diners by saying their open kitchen ensures food safety. However, they did not say how the restaurant would control the behaviour of diners in private rooms.
A lawyer with China’s Landing Law Offices, Li Xiaoyi, told the Southern Metropolis Daily that the restaurant is entitled to sue the teenagers for damaging restaurant property and tarnishing its reputation.

According to Chinese law, people over 16 years old can be held legally responsible for unlawful behaviour.
Li said the teenagers or their parents were required to compensate the restaurant for the damage they caused.
Some online observers said Haidilao should learn from the Japanese restaurant chain Sushiro.
The sushi brand filed a lawsuit demanding 67 million yen (US$455,000) compensation from a 17-year-old boy who filmed himself licking a soy sauce bottle at one of its restaurants, before uploading the footage on social media.
The company said it suffered a sharp fall in customers due to the viral video.


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Drunken migrant workers face legal action after standing on table in private dining room and urinating in soup dish served by famous chain outlet


Drunken migrant workers face legal action after standing on table in private dining room and urinating in soup dish served by famous chain outlet.


China food safety