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Parenting plays a crucial role in shaping a child’s behavior, values, and overall development., but it seems like it has been neglected recently. Just like the Bandar Utama case that happened recently painfully highlights what can happen when parents fail to provide proper care and supervision, leading to serious harm and suffering for the child involved. Similar cases don't just happen in Malaysia, and often happen around the world.
Though isn't up to murdering, a case happened in Shanghai China recently, involving 2 teenagers aged 17, and affecting up to 4,000 group of customers. According to Sin Chew Daily, earlier on 24th February 2025, these 2 teenage boys surnamed Tang and Wu filmed each other for climbing onto the table inside a private room at a Hai Di Lao restaurant in Shanghai and urinated directly into the boiling hotpot. Few days later, Wu uploaded the video on social media, gaining immediate traction and led to major condemnation and public outrage.
In response, Hai Di Lao publicly apologized for the incident. The company stated that the affected branch had replaced all cookware and utensils and carried out thorough deep cleaning and disinfection measures. However, since the incident was not publicly known for 12 days, it was estimated that more than 4,000 groups of customers may have used potentially contaminated utensils during that period.
Haidilao promised to provide compensation at ten times the usual amount to any customers who might have been affected. In addition, the company filed a civil lawsuit against the two teenagers and their parents, seeking damages for operational losses, damage to the company’s reputation, and related legal expenses. The total amount sought was RMB23.1 million (approx. RM13.6 million).
After reviewing the case, the Huangpu District People’s Court in Shanghai ruled that the incident seriously damaged the hygiene image of the restaurant and the company’s reputation, significantly impacting the business operation. The court has then ruled both Tang, Wu, and their parents to issue a public apology in designated newspapers, as well as required them to compensate Hai Di Lao for the cost of replacing tableware and cleaning fees totaling RMB130,000, business and reputation losses amounting to RMB 2 million, and RMB70,000 in legal fees, coming to a total of RMB2.2 million (approx. RM1.3M)!
Though facing both financial and self esteem punishments, netizens don't seem to buy the idea. Instead, many criticized the verdict, claiming that the punishment should have been harsher, such as prison time for the boys, “For such a big company like Haidilao, only 2 million in reputation loss?” and “The compensation amount was reduced by 90%, that’s really too cheap for them.” Nevertheless, many felt that the parents and the kids both deserved it, “If you don’t discipline your child properly from a young age, society will discipline them for you.”
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