A bizarre incident in China’s Hainan province has sparked wide discussion online after a woman was ordered to pay nearly 30,000 yuan (approximately US$4,200) for deliberately flooding her hotel room following a dispute over a cancellation. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the woman turned on all the taps in her hotel bathroom after staff refused to cancel her stay due to a no-cancellation policy.

The woman had initially booked the room for a modest rate of 108 yuan (US$15) per night but soon complained about the room’s quality and lack of proper soundproofing. Although hotel staff offered to upgrade her accommodation free of charge, she declined the proposal. The confrontation escalated until the woman, in a fit of anger, opened the washbasin and shower taps and left them running for several hours, causing water to seep through the floor and damage the property below.

Eyewitnesses reported that she poured shower gel on the bedding and continued running water into the attached bathroom for nearly four hours before authorities arrived. By the time police intervened, the hotel’s walls, floors, and several furnishings were severely damaged. The woman later admitted responsibility during questioning and agreed to compensate the hotel for the destruction.

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Local police fined her nearly 30,000 yuan, roughly 280 times the original room rate. The story quickly went viral on Chinese social media, with users criticizing the woman’s behavior as a warning against uncontrolled anger. Many pointed out that she was fortunate to face only a financial penalty, with one commenter noting, “Compared to potential criminal charges, she got off lightly.” Another added, “Anger can cause great consequences if we don’t put a leash on it. The law can be a good leash.”

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