IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Gas poisoning at hotpot

Seven diners claim they were poisoned when they had hotpot in a restaurant at Xinzhongjie, Dongcheng district, on Friday, the Beijing Times reported yesterday.

The diners were sent to the Chaoyang hospital. They were diagnosed as having carbon monoxide poisoning. A restaurant employee said the restaurant used charcoal to cook the hotpot and the window had been closed, but he said carbon monoxide poisoning should not happen. He said if the restaurant was proven responsible, they would compensate the diners.