Management at The Nest have released a full statement responding to allegations that a lesbian couple was assaulted by staff members at the venue last month.
The accusations first surfaced in late December, when posts circulating on social media detailed the alleged incident and called for a boycott of the popular gastrolounge.
The Nest's new statement, dated January 5, was released on the venue's official WeChat account earlier today.
According to the release, police conducted an expanded investigation which covered "full statements from every individual involved, all security camera footage, the statement of an independent witness, and [The Nest's] attacked manager’s medical reports."
Following the investigation, a settlement agreement was released, and The Nest is now apparently ready to take legal action against "individuals, group leaders, media platforms, and others who have falsely slandered, defamed and damaged The Nest and our employees’ reputations, our business and our principles."
Here were the key conclusions of the police-mediated settlement agreement, according to The Nest:
· There were only two individual females involved in the incident: The Nest’s Senior Operations Manager... and [one of the guests]... There is no claim by or mention of [any other other guests]. There is no claim against or mention whatsoever of The Nest security.
· Both females [the operations manager and guest] waived their rights to claim or receive medical attention. Both females, and only the two females, sustained a similar magnitude of injuries (scratches and bruises), and each female, plus the Police, confirmed that there was no medical attention required.
· Both females waived their rights to take any further action regarding the incident.
There was no official claim made or evidence found whatsoever of any security guards beating any guests. There was no official claim or evidence found whatsoever of any discriminatory or hateful language used by The Nest team. The Nest categorically and vehemently denies these malicious falsifications spread in the media.
The statement also provides a different version of events from what was originally disseminated. According to the statement, the incident unfolded as follows:
[The Nest's Senior Operation Manager] made an honest mistake of thinking, in passing, that one of the other party was a man entering the female toilets. She responded calmly and professionally, on the basis of protecting the safety of our guests. She sincerely apologized to the guest immediately upon realising her mistake. She was then alone, outnumbered and outweighted, for four minutes [and] 15 seconds in the female washroom until security was alerted to rescue her.
The Nest also added that it "under no circumstances discriminates against anyone’s gender, sexual preference, race or religion," and that it would use the incident to improve China's hospitality industry.
"We are currently exploring ways that this incident can be used to improve understanding, dignity and safety for workers across the Chinese service and hospitality industry, and will be releasing further details in due course," the statement said.
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