Hospitality is a wonderful Chinese tradition, but it can prove fatal.

A court in East China's Zhejiang Province on Thursday ordered a host to pay compensation after he persuaded his guest to drink too much. The 20-year-old guest collapsed and died at his friend's house after drinking too much brandy and Chinese liquor.

In the trial verdict on Thursday, the court in Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, held eight drinking companions responsible for making Luo Xiaoming drink too much at a family banquet.

The court's autopsy report showed that Luo, who was a company security guard, died of alcohol poisoning. Heavily intoxicated, he vomited and then suffocated.

Luo's parents sued his friend for 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) but the court considered the amount excessive, saying that adults must use common sense on festive occasions. The companions were ordered to pay 35,192 yuan (US$4,400) in compensation.

The court case has stirred up controversy as to who was responsible for the death.

Luo was a guest at a friend's house during the Spring Festival. Family reunions and gatherings are an intrinsic feature of the holiday and persuading guests to drink is a common practice around the Chinese dinner table.

(China Daily September 2, 2006)