Eight food and drug officials in central China's Hubei Province were penalized for the death of a colleague due to an alcohol-fuelled working lunch in December, the provincial disciplinary watchdog said Sunday.

Liu Jianxin, an official with the food and drug administration in Tongshan County in the city of Xianning, died after drinking excessively during working lunch with a supervisor and seven colleagues in Huangsha township on Dec. 19, 2014, the provincial commission for discipline inspection said in a press release.

All seven people present were penalized for drinking during working hours, it said.

Six of them, including Liu's supervisor Zhang Yu who was deputy chief of the food and drug administration in Tongshan County, received warnings but stayed at their job.

Huang Tianfu, food and drug chief in Huangsha Township, was removed from his post.

Tongshan County's food and drug chief You Tao received an official warning.

China has banned officials from drinking at lunchtime, to purge the tradition of mixing booze and business.

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