Chinese Mayor Sacked After Official Dies Of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

A city mayor in China’s Hunan province was sacked after an official died of alcohol poisoning, the provincial discipline inspection commission reportedly wrote on its website Friday. The mayor and other officials attended a lavish business dinner in April, during which one of their colleagues consumed too much alcohol, leading to his death.

Xiang Shuguang was removed from the post of the mayor of Yongzhou city and as the deputy chief of the city's committee of the Communist Party of China, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the province’s Commission for Discipline Inspection. Some officials were reportedly sacked and others were warned. According to the investigation conducted by the commission, the April 29 dinner reportedly cost 7,707 yuan (about $1,200), in violation of the party's rules.

However, this is not the first incident where an official’s death due to excessive alcohol consumption led to the firing of a senior official. In 2013, an official accompanying Chen Ruixi, vice mayor of Sanming city in Fujian province, for business dinner party died after drinking alcohol. Ruixi was sacked from his post in January 2014.

Amid the growing public outrage over corruption and excessive official spending, the Communist Party seeks to limit everything from bribery and gift-giving to extravagant meals, Reuters reported. Chinese President Xi Jinping has reportedly vowed to go after powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies" to stamp out corruption from the country.