Sunday, July 05, 2009

Barkeeper guilty in deadly teenage drinking match

A barman was jailed on Friday at Berlin's state court for serving at least 44 shots of tequila to a 16-year-old German boy during a faked drinking contest that killed the teenager.

The 28-year-old barman gave himself glasses of water, but served the teenager with alcohol during the drinking bout the pair had in February 2007. After about an hour the youngster fell into a coma and died five weeks later.

The bartender, who admitted his guilt, was sentenced to three years and five months in jail for causing grievous bodily harm with fatal consequences. Two other bar staff who were involved in tricking the dead teenager were convicted at an earlier trial of causing grievous bodily harm. They were sentenced to receive social training for 10 months, while a third bartender at that trial was acquitted.

The case triggered a national debate over teenage alcohol abuse and the danger of "flat-rate" binge-drinking parties where customers pay a one-off entry fee and are served unlimited strong spirits all night.

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