China removes award for drunk official

China removes merit award for official who died drinking in karaoke bar

A news agency says a local government in central China has stripped an official who died drinking in a karaoke bar of a merit award after an outcry on the Internet.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency said Thursday the government decided to remove a merit award given to a former family planning commission director in Henan province after it was found he died while drinking and "having fun" at a karaoke bar.

The Communist Party had honored Guo Shizhong posthumously with a "level three order of merit for an individual" after he died of a brain hemorrhage in February, an award usually given to those who "who die of honor on post," Xinhua said.