Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

This is the moment a middle-aged woman downs half a litre of hard liquor at a train station before vomiting and collapsing on the ground after being told she would not be allowed to board with the bottle of booze in her luggage.

Traveller Ms Luo, 46, made the decision to finish the bottle of Chinese spirits known as ‘baijiu’ outside the security checkpoint at Huaihua Railway Station in China’s central Hunan Province on 6th November.

Baijiu refers to any form of Chinese hard liquor made from grain, and is similar in appearance to other East Asian spirits such as Japan’s shochu and sake, or South Korea’s soju, but often has a much higher alcohol content – up to 65 percent alcohol by volume.

Not wishing to waste her alcohol, and with no time to bring it home before her train departs in 20 minutes, Ms Luo decided to down the entire bottle there and then.

Railway officer Yi Yi told local media: “The alcohol was brought in a plastic mineral water bottle. There was about 500 millilitres of it.

“The woman said it was medicinal alcohol made using baijiu, but we informed her that she was not allowed to bring it onboard.

“We advised her to call someone to bring it home for her, but she said she was in a hurry to board the train and didn’t have time, so she opened it and finished it.

“Our officers tried to dissuade her, but she said she would be fine, and that she didn’t want to waste it.”

The authorities said Ms Luo collapsed shortly after and began vomiting, but body-worn camera footage shows her telling the policeman: “I’ve just finished a bottle of liquor…

“I’m ready to board my train now.”

Yi noted: “She was conscious and could still communicate with us, but after a while she was completely intoxicated and then blacked out.

“We helped her change her ticket to minimise her economic loss.”

Ms Luo was taken to a local hospital where she later sobered up. She is in stable condition.

Unsealed bottles of alcohol are not permitted on Chinese trains.

Passengers are allowed to carry up to six bottles of sealed alcohol onboard but are restricted to two items of liquor above 50 ABV.

Ms Luo is not expected to be fined over the stunt.

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