Chinese mayor sacked after official dies from drinking too much alcohol at extravagant dinner

The meal, attended by 14 officials, cost 7,707 yuan (S$1,672). PHOTO: AFP

BEIJING (Reuters) - A mayor from China's central Hunan province and other officials have been sacked or reprimanded after one of their colleagues died from excessive alcohol consumption at an extravagant business dinner, the provincial graft watchdog said.

The mayor and deputy Communist Party chief of Yongzhou city, Mr Xiang Shuguang, was dismissed from his post, the province's Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website on Friday.

Other officials were either sacked or received warnings after a female colleague died following the April 29 dinner. The meal, attended by 14 officials, cost 7,707 yuan (S$1,672), the watchdog said.

China is aggressively seeking to stamp out graft in Communist Party and government ranks. Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to go after powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies" in his struggle against corruption, warning that the problem is so bad it could affect the party's grip on power.

The Communist Party has sought to curtail everything from bribery and gift-giving to lavish banquets to assuage public anger over corruption and extravagance.

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