Senior Chinese army commander sacked after former comrade dies in drinking binge

The youngest serving army corp commander in the PLA has been dismissed after a former soldier who served under him died after they went out drinking together, a news agency reported.

Zhang Yan, commander of the Shandong-based 26th Army, went drinking with two former subordinates and one died afterwards, the China News Service reported.

The two lower ranking troops were from the 39th Army based in Shenyang, which Zhang had previously headed, the report said. The report did not give details of when and where the three went drinking.

Zhang’s dismissal has been confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.

Defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun told a regular media briefing that the officer had violated regulations.

Nine government officials in China have died from excessive drinking since January 2013, according to a report published by the China Youth Daily in April 2014.