Beer Challenge Sends Man to ICU, Organizer Refuses Medical Bills

A beer-drinking challenge left a man in central China in intensive care for six days, with medical bills exceeding 30,000 yuan (US$4,479) that the business refuses to pay, Xiaoxiang Morning News reported today.

The participant, a man surnamed Guo from Pingdingshan in Henan Province, drank 7.5 kilograms of beer in about 26 minutes and received a 5,000-yuan prize. The business cited a liability waiver he signed before competing.

The challenge, held on May 31, required participants to finish 10 bottles of craft beer weighing 750 grams each within two hours, without spilling or spitting it out. They also had to go another 20 minutes without vomiting after finishing.

Guo said he began drinking around 9pm, finished in about 26 minutes and then collapsed. He was diagnosed with acute alcohol poisoning, aspiration pneumonia caused by choking on vomit, acute respiratory failure and acute pulmonary edema, the newspaper reported.

He said he had not fully recovered since leaving hospital, with intermittent coughing, inflammation visible on lung scans and frequent stomach pain. He accused the organizer of setting a challenge beyond what the human body could withstand and said nobody from the business visited him in hospital.

The store manager, a man surnamed Ma, said Guo drank too quickly and vomited less than 10 minutes after finishing. Staff laid him down, placed a pillow under him, wiped his mouth and contacted emergency services and his family, Ma said. He acknowledged that more than 10 minutes elapsed before the ambulance call but denied delaying treatment.

Ma said participants were not forced to keep drinking and had signed and fingerprinted waivers, with audio and video records. Guo acknowledged signing but said he saw the document only a minute or two before drinking and did not read it carefully. The organizer's signature and stamp fields were blank on the copy he supplied.

Ma said headquarters devised the challenge and his franchise supplied the venue. Headquarters deemed Guo successful and paid the prize.

Guo reported the incident to police as intentional injury, but police did not open a case. Market regulators ended mediation after he declined to participate.