At the Haidilao restaurant in Xuzhou Yunlong Wanda Plaza, China, a recent incident occurred where a toddler of about 2 years old threw a diaper onto the dining table and into the hotpot.
As seen in the video, the toddler holds up the diaper and directly drops it into the boiling hotpot, causing the broth to splash. At the time, a man nearby was assisting with the diaper change. The entire process was filmed by another guest at the table and uploaded online by the toddler’s mother, quickly sparking widespread discussion and sharing.
Haidilao Confirms Incident and Files Police Report
According to the Chinese media outlet "New Yellow River," the relevant Haidilao branch has disposed of all cooking utensils involved and reported the incident to the police. Local authorities have also taken appropriate action against the guardians present as required by law.
Several years ago, a similar so-called “urination incident” occurred at Haidilao’s Shanghai Bund location, where two 17-year-old youths urinated into a hotpot while dining. The exposed video led to public criticism. Afterwards, Haidilao destroyed and replaced all pots and utensils, fully refunded the customers’ meal bills, and provided an additional cash compensation equal to ten times the original payment.
The court ultimately ruled that the two youths involved and their parents—a total of six people—were required to compensate Haidilao 2.2 million RMB, including 130,000 RMB for utensil losses and cleaning, 2 million RMB for business and reputation damage, 70,000 RMB for legal protection costs, and to publish a public apology in a designated newspaper.
Although the recent Xuzhou incident involved a toddler, public discussion has once again raised issues of food safety, guardian responsibility, and brand reputation management. It has also made netizens curious: if tangible losses are caused by a toddler, what kind of compensation responsibility should the guardians bear?