A French barman received a suspended jail sentence last week after he was convicted of manslaughter for letting a man do 56 shots during a drinking contest that led to his death.

Renaud Prudhomme, 56, broke the in-house shots record last October at Starter, a bar in the central French town of Clermont-Ferrand.

He had spent the evening with his daughter and some friends who helped him home in his inebriated state, but they soon had to phone the emergency services. Prudhomme, a large man weighing around 120 kilos, died in hospital the following day.

Barman Gilles Crepin, 47, admitted at an earlier hearing that he had made “a mistake” by displaying the shots record on a noticeboard, encouraging the victim to go too far. He was given a four-month suspended sentence by a local court Wednesday and banned from working in a bar for a year.

His lawyer said he would appeal the ruling.

“It’s a decision guided by emotion and the unconscious desire to set an example,” said Renaud Portejoie, who had called for the case to be thrown out. Portejoie said his client bore no responsibility, adding that it was the man’s daughter who had pushed him to break the record, and that he had existing respiratory and alcohol abuse problems.

“We can’t ask every customer who buys alcohol to present their medical certificates,” said Portejoie.

Antoine Portal, a lawyer for Prudhomme’s daughter, said she was not at the bar at the time of the drinking competition.

“My client is relieved by this decision,” Portal said of the ruling forbidding Crepin from working as a barman.

“We want to remind some professionals that it is illegal to serve alcohol to clients that are in an advanced state of inebriation,” he added.

上周，法国一间酒吧的酒保因过失杀人被判缓刑，此前在酒吧的拼酒大赛中，他让一名顾客喝下了56杯烈酒，最终导致该男子身亡。

事发于法国中部克莱蒙-费朗的一间酒吧。2014年10月，56岁的雷诺•普吕多姆在那里打破了在酒吧内喝酒的纪录。当天晚上，雷诺和女儿还有一些朋友在酒吧玩，他最后喝得醉醺醺，被朋友们送回家，结果不久就打急救电话。

普吕多姆身材高大，体重约120公斤。次日，他在医院不治身亡。

酒保吉勒斯•克雷平今年47岁，在早前的听证会上，他承认自己的“失误”，不该在酒吧告示牌上展示喝酒纪录，怂恿对方喝太多酒。

上周三他被当地法院判处了四个月缓刑监禁，并且一年内禁止在酒吧工

作。他的律师表示要上诉。

“这个判决受到了情绪左右，还有潜意识中想要杀鸡儆猴。”雷诺•波特茹瓦表示，他要求撤销判决。

波特茹瓦称，他的委托人没有责任，他还说，是那名男子的女儿怂恿他打破纪录的，他之前已经有呼吸道疾病和酗酒问题了。

波特茹瓦还说，“我们无法要求每个来喝酒的顾客出示健康证明。”

普吕多姆女儿的律师安托万•波塔尔表示，拼酒大赛进行的时候，她并不在场。对于禁止克雷平在酒吧工作，波塔尔表示“我的委托人如释重负。”

“我们想提醒业界人士，向已经高度醉酒的顾客提供酒水是违法的，”他说。

Words to Learn 相关词汇

    【急救】jíjìu emergency situation where a patient requires urgent treatment

    【醉酒】zuìjǐu inebriation prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol