Chinese Restaurant Chain Apologizes After 2 Diners Urinated in Soup: Reports

One of China’s biggest restaurant chains known for its hotpot is reportedly offering refunds to customers after a video went viral online of a diner urinating in their hotpot broth.

Haidilao — which also has restaurant locations in the U.S. — said “two men urinated into a hotpot” after dining in a private room at one of its restaurants in Shanghai in the “early hours” of Feb. 24, according to a statement obtained by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“As management had never made contingency plans or given training for dealing with this type of incident, staff at our branch were unable to detect any abnormalities at the scene or uphold the safety of the dining environment,” the company added.

Hotpot, which is served at the restaurant, is often served in a large pot filled with broth which customers can fill with meats, vegetables and other foods. While the hotpot broth is often switched out for each customer, it is unclear if the staff at the Haidilao restaurant properly sanitized the pot before it was used by other customers, BBC News reported.

Haidilao then noted that it would provide refunds for customers who dined at the downtown Shanghai location between Feb. 24 and March 8, according to outlet and Reuters. The restaurant chain has offered to compensate over 4,000 diners who had visited the branch.

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

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Super Hi International, which operates Haidilao, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The restaurant said the incident was reported to police in Jianyang, Sichuan, where the company’s headquarters are located, as well as other locations, according to Reuters.

Police in Shanghai shared, that two 17-year-old men — identified by their surnames Tang and Wu — were placed in “administrative detention” in relation to the incident, per AFP and BBC News.

According to the outlets, Haidilao filed a civil lawsuit against the two men on Monday, March 10.

Haidilao initially opened in Sichuan in 1994, before expanding to become “a leading Chinese cuisine restaurant brand,” according to Super Hi International’s website. The company is known for its “exceptional customer service and unique dining experience.”

Super Hi International has been self-operating restaurants located in “13 countries across four continents” as of Sept. 30, 2024, the company said. Haidilao operates more than 1,000 restaurants across the world, according to the BBC.