The 17-year-olds, identified by their surnames Tang and Wu, filmed their disgusting stunt and shared the footage online.

Haidilao, which is one of China’s most popular hot pot restaurant chains, offered compensation to thousands of diners after the footage emerged.

The contaminated broth was not consumed by any customers, as it is discarded after every meal.

However, the restaurant underwent a deep cleaning and destroyed and replaced all of its tableware after widespread revulsion at the act.

Haidilao subsequently launched legal proceedings against the teenagers and their parents, seeking over 23 million yuan (around €2.8m or £2.4m) in compensation.

The Shanghai Huangpu District People’s Court this month ordered the families to pay the lesser sum of 2.2m yuan, the South China Morning Post reports.

It includes 130,000 yuan for damaged utensils and cleaning fees, two million yuan for operational and reputational losses, and 70,000 yuan for legal expenses.