Chinese official dies after binge drinking in Yunnan

20 officials in China’s southwestern Yunnan province have been punished after binge drinking at a government reception that has led to one death, the latest victim of the country’s notoriously boozy official banquets despite a tough government crackdown.

According to a report by state news agency Xinhua, the reception was held on 20 September as officials from Bai Autonomous Prefecture came to supervise safety work.

Two of the officials from the prefecture were sacked over the incident while others received a warning or ‘lighter punishment’.

This is not the first time that an official has drunk himself to death at a government banquet, occasions where rounds of Chinese baijiu are often poured to encourage participants to down everything in one sitting for ‘Gan Bei’ or ‘Bottoms up’.

Last year in November, an official in Hebei province drank himself to death at a government reception.

According to Chinese media reports, alcohol poisoning due to excessive drinking is the second prime cause for officials’ unnatural death after suicide.

The Chinese government has launched an extensive crackdown on alcohol consumption at official banquets after the 18^th Party Congress held in 2012, but reports of official deaths on the job persist.