Last Thursday, a group dining at a popular hot pot chain restaurant in Weifang, Shandong province received an unusual offer after finding a dead rat hiding at the bottom of their pot.
Initially, the shop’s owner declared that he was only willing to compensate the party with 5,000 yuan ($728). However, the diners responded by saying that they would mull over his offer and get back to him following a physical checkup, noting that one member of their party was a pregnant woman.
To this, the owner reportedly replied that if the woman was worried about the health of her unborn child, then he would pay 20,000 yuan ($2,900) in compensation so that she could get an abortion.
No transactions were apparently carried out. When a reporter rushed to the restaurant to find out the details, he was told by the owner that the matter would have to be handled by headquarters. The incident took place at a Xiabu Xiabu restaurant, a popular Beijing-based fast food hot pot chain with locations around China.
Meanwhile, the local market supervision authority has announced that it is looking into the matter.
