Inside a hot pot store in Xiantao, Central China's Hubei Province on December, 18, 2018 Photo: VCG

A man who attempted to extort 5 million yuan ($724,000) from China's popular hot pot restaurant chain Haidilao was sentenced to three years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan, by the Fengtai district court in Beijing on Wednesday. 

The man, surnamed Guo, claimed he had found a rat in his hot pot at a Haidilao restaurant on November 13, and was given 20,000 yuan as compensation. Guo upped his demand to 5 million yuan but was turned down flat. 

The next day, Guo filed a complaint with China's State Food and Drug Administration. Haidilao then reported Guo's extortion attempt to the Beijing police on November 15. Police reviewed the restaurant's surveillance video, finding that Guo had put the dead rat into his hot pot. 

Guo was arrested and charged with extortion in late December. He later confessed to his ploy, saying he was only looking for a free meal but his greed made him go too far.