China's famous hotpot chain Haidilao suffers 'unique' incident

Chinese hotpot giant Haidilao says it will compensate more than 4,000 diners who visited one of its restaurants in Shanghai after a 'unique' incident.

A video that has gone viral on multiple social media platforms shows two young men stepping onto a table and urinating in their hot pot while dining in a private room at a Haidilao restaurant.

Haidilao said on Wednesday that the incident occurred on February 24, but it only learned of the problem four days later and was initially unable to determine the time and location.

Haidilao is a world famous hot pot restaurant chain.

PHOTO: Bloomberg

The incident revealed a lack of training procedures, which led to staff failing to detect the situation in time. The company confirmed that the incident occurred at a restaurant in downtown Shanghai, China.

“We fully understand that the suffering our customers have suffered as a result of this incident cannot be fully compensated in any way,” the company said in a statement. “We are willing to do our utmost to take responsibility.” The company did not say how much it would spend to compensate the 4,000 diners.

Haidilao reported the incident to police in Jianyang, Sichuan, where it is headquartered, and other locations.

Shanghai police said they had arrested two young men, both 17 years old. Haidilao filed a civil lawsuit against them on Monday, the company statement added.

Haidilao was founded in 1994 in Sichuan, China and now has nearly 1,500 hotpot restaurants in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and more than 115 other branches around the world. Haidilao also has many restaurants in Vietnam.