An eatery in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat which used violence to stop its guests from leaving a negative review on social media will be temporarily suspended from business, local police said Thursday.

Police in Da Lat’s Ward 1 announced the conclusion of an investigation into an incident at Bich Thuy, a diner located in the city’s must-visit night market, on Tuesday night after working with eyewitnesses and examining footage from the market’s CCTV cameras.

Ward 1 police will consider slapping administrative fines on those involved in the case while the night market’s managers have resolved to either revoke or temporarily suspend the eatery’s business license, according to law enforcement officials.

“The establishment should be suspended from business to set example for other facilities at the Da Lat Night Market, which is part of the city’s public image,” Do Ngoc Hoa, head of the Ward 1 police unit, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday.

Hoa also provided details on the events which led to the confrontation between the Bich Thuy’s staff and a group of tourists, including Nguyen Thi Cam Van and her Vietnamese-American cousin Do Saphia Thuy.

The two women entered the restaurant with four other family members and were served six plates of rice with pork and chicken.

Saphia Thuy notified the staff that the rice was cold and her chicken was undercooked, asking them to change the dish. 

The group also asked the staff for the complimentary soup meant to accompany their order, but were instead given a big bowl of soup which the waitress said would cost VND100,000 (US$4.4).

Even though the tourists insisted they would not eat the soup, the attendants left the bowl on their table.

Before leaving the eatery, Van used her smartphone to take a photo of the facility, prompting one attendant to shout, “That girl hasn’t paid yet and she’s taking photos to post on Facebook! Stop her!”

According to CCTV footage, following the ‘alert,’ a woman rushed out from behind the chef’s counter to stop Van while an angry mob attacked the rest of the tourist group.

While one restaurant worker demanded that Van delete the photos she took of the eatery, waitress Lo Thieu Mai Trang jumped in and grabbed Saphia Thuy’s hair, knocked her to the ground, and repeatedly hit and kicked her in the face and abdomen.

Saphia Thuy fainted shortly after the assault and Van left with a bloody face.

The tourist is seen after the attack in this photo posted on Facebook on March 6, 2018.

Trang later confessed the assault on Saphia Thuy to police.

Dang Mau Nhi, deputy head of the Da Lat Night Market management board, admitted to Tuoi Tre that misbehavior is not uncommon amongst the venue’s service providers.

“This has really scared tourists visiting Da Lat,” he said.