Beijing, October 5: A man in Shenzhen, China, lost his life after downing a litre of liquor within 10 minutes during a company dinner in his bid to earn a cash prize of Rs 2.31 lakh from his boss. The victim, surnamed Zhang, was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed and was diagnosed with severe alcohol poisoning, aspiration pneumonia, suffocation, and cardiac arrest, as mentioned in the hospital's critical condition notice.

The incident took place on July 15 when Zhang attended his company's team-bonding dinner where he was challenged to a drinking contest by his boss, Yang, South China Morning Post reported. Chinese Influencer Dies After Binge-Drinking Alcohol: Zhong Yuan Huang Ge Aka Brother Huang Passes Away After Binging Excessive Amounts of Baijiu During Viral 'PK' Challenge.

Yang, initiated the drinking competition during the dinner, pledging a 20,000-yuan reward (Rs 2.31 Lakh) for anyone who could outdrink Zhang. Influencer Dies After Live-streaming Himself Drinking Bottles of 'Chinese Vodka'.

"After Zhang gave his toast at Yang's table, the latter openly proposed a reward of 5,000 yuan to anyone who could drink more than him," one of Zhang's colleagues told the media.  When no one responded to the offer, the boss raised the amount to 10,000 yuan (Rs 1.15 lakh). 

Zhang then asked about the stakes if he won the contest and Yang told him he would be awarded 20,000 yuan. However, if he lost, he was asked to pay 10,000 yuan to treat the whole company to afternoon tea.

Yang later chose several employees, including his own driver, to compete against Zhang. However, in a tragic turn of events Zhang drank around 1 litre of strong Chinese baijiu spirit in about 10 minutes.

He collapsed immediately and was rushed to Shenzhen Junlong Hospital but died during the treatment.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 05, 2023 12:05 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).