A young woman has been beaten in a café in Kazakhstan after spilling tea and allegedly refusing to pay for dry cleaning.

The incident took place on December 31, 2025, at a café in the city of Aktau. According to reports, the visitor accidentally spilled tea on a sofa, after which the café owner demanded 14,000 tenge to cover the cost of cleaning the furniture, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

The situation escalated when three men, including the establishment’s owner, attacked the woman. Video footage circulating online shows one of the attackers striking the victim, causing her to fall to the floor.

The woman reportedly did not refuse to pay and said she only wanted to wait for her brother to arrive. However, her phone, laptop, and bags were taken from her, and she was pushed outside into freezing temperatures without outer clothing.

The victim has demanded that the actions of the café staff be classified under the article “arbitrariness” of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Code. Police, however, opened a case on charges of causing bodily harm, noting that both sides in the conflict sustained injuries.

The café owner filed a counterclaim on January 27. Court proceedings in the case are expected to begin in the near future.