2016年CRI Restaurant Fined for ＂Over-priced Fish＂

The issue garnered 1 widespread attention after a tourist named Chen Yan claimed he was charged over 10-thousand yuan for a feast at a restaurant featuring wild fish.

Chen posted the bill to his Sina Weibo account, showing the price of the Huso sturgeon he ordered was nearly 800 yuan per kilogram.

The restaurant claimed the fish had been caught in the wild but it was later proven to be a farmed fish.

Songbei District Deputy Director Ding Wei led the investigation 2.

"By checking their order list and supply channels for the fish, we discovered the restaurant purchased the fish at a price of 60 yuan per kilogram. We have verified that the fish are not wild but artificially raised. The order list was faked."

Investigators 3 say the restaurant had also cheated on registrations 4 and permits, and they have verified Chen's accusation 5 that there was a physical altercation 6 involving restaurant staff.

Local authorities describe the issue as a serious infringement 7 on consumer rights. The license 8 for the restaurant has been revoked 9 and the owner has been fined 500,000 yuan.

These findings represent a complete reversal of a previous investigation of the issue.

In a report released two days after Chen's viral online post, The Harbin Market Supervisory Authority had said the fish had been sold at a reasonable price.

When talking about the contradiction in the results, Ding says staff members with some local authorities have been negligent 10 in their work, as they took testimony 11 from the restaurant's side only.

"After receiving the message on Weibo, we sent out investigators to check the issue immediately. We have tried to contact Chen Yan but failed. Under such circumstances we only listen to the testimony from the restaurant and drew the first report. We wanted to send an immediate 12 response to the public and media. "

He says local authorities involved in the case will be subjected to executive accountability and will take responsibility for their actions.

Ding says the issue has harmed the image of the city and the local authority has been reflecting on the case.

"The issue has made us to reflect on our work. We will enhance the supervision 13 of the Market and stress the rule of law to ensure food safety. The qualifications of the managerial staff needs to be improved. And we welcome public supervision."

According to the National Tourism Administration, tourism revenues during the Spring Festival holiday hit 13.8 billion yuan, up 14 percent from last year.

Yet many problems, including price fraud and selling under coercion 14, have been exposed in the booming sector 15.

To deal with these problems, China's State Council announced on Friday that it will expedite establishment of a tourism supervision body to address problems such as the infringement of tourists' rights.

Local governments have also been urged to do their part to ensure fairness in the sector and protect consumer rights, and publicize details of any wrongdoing.

For CRI, this is Guo Yan.