Bartender convicted of manslaughter

A French bartender has been convicted of manslaughter after serving a man 56 shots in one sitting, which led to the man’s death.

Renaud Prudhomme, 56, downed the shots at a bar called Starter in the central French town of Clermont-Ferrand, as reported by The Telegraph. 

After returning home, the emergency services were called and Mr Prudhomme died the following day in hospital.

Bartender Gilles Crepin, 47, received a four month suspended sentence at a French court on Wednesday and was banned from working in a bar for a year.

Crepin’s lawyer, Renaud Portejoie, said his client was not responsible for the Prudhomme’s death, arguing that it was the man’s daughter that had persuaded him to break the record. He also cited Prudhomme’s existing respiratory and alcohol abuse problems.

While Crepin is understood to be appealing the ban, he admitted he had made a mistake by displaying the shots record on a noticeboard at the bar.

Antoine Portal, a lawyer for Prudhomme’s daughter, said his client was relieved at the decision and approved of the ban, adding that she was not at the bar at the time of the competition.

“We want to remind some professionals that it is illegal to serve alcohol to clients who are in an advanced state of inebriation”, Portal said.