In February, two drunk teens urinated into a hotpot at a Shanghai branch of the popular restaurant chain Haidilao. Now, they and their families have been ordered to pay for their actions.

On Thursday, China’s Supreme High Court confirmed that the judgment, issued by a local court in Shanghai, in the lawsuit involving the two 17-year-olds has now gone into effect. 

The court ordered both youths and their parents to issue written apologies in designated newspapers and to jointly pay Haidilao a total of 2.2 million yuan ($309,000) in compensation for damage to tableware, cleaning and disinfection costs, economic losses, and harm to the company’s reputation.

Known for its strong focus on customer service, Haidilao is China’s most famous hotpot chain, encompassing more than 1,300 restaurants domestically and dozens more overseas. 

The teens entered a private room in a Shanghai Haidilao restaurant at around midnight on Feb. 24, climbed onto a table, and urinated into a hotpot.

Their actions went unnoticed for several days, until one of the teens posted a video of the act online, which went viral and sparked widespread outrage. After investigating the incident, Shanghai police announced on March 8 that they had taken the teens into custody.

Haidilao subsequently reposted the police announcement via its official account on microblogging platform Weibo, saying it reserved the right to take legal action against the teens. However, noting that the individuals involved were minors, the company urged the public to refrain from attacks on them and their families, calling for “a chance to let them learn a lesson and grow.”

The response sparked online backlash, with netizens questioning why the perpetrators were not criminally prosecuted and criticizing the company’s protection of the teens. Calls to boycott Haidilao flooded the comments section.

On March 12, Haidilao issued an apology on Weibo, adding that it had spent a week replacing all tableware and disinfecting the premises of the restaurant in question. For thousands of orders placed at the restaurant during the affected period, the company pledged to reimburse customers tenfold in addition to full refunds.

Two days later, Haidilao filed a civil lawsuit in Shanghai, demanding that both teens and their parents issue a public apology and pay 23 million yuan in damages for economic losses.

On Sept. 12, Shanghai’s Huangpu District People’s Court issued its ruling, rejecting Haidilao’s claim for 23 million yuan in damages, stating that its losses stemmed from an independent business decision.

Although the teens were minors at the time of the crime, the court noted that, at 17, they were capable of understanding the illegality and consequences of their actions. The judge also deemed that their parents had failed in their duty to supervise and educate, thus all six bear responsibility for the crime. 

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: Visuals from VCG and Weibo, reedited by Sixth Tone)