A hotel guest in central China died after the staff held on to life-saving medicine for five hours without delivering it, sparking heated online debate over the hotel’s responsibility.

The 51-year-old man, surnamed Hu, was found dead in his room at a Yeste Hotel in Wuhan, Hubei province, on November 20.

Hu’s death confused his friend, Han Shun, who delivered his medicine earlier that day.

Han took Hu, a Wuhan local, to stay at the hotel the previous evening after he finished work in the district that is far from his home.

He received a phone call from Hu the next morning saying he felt unwell and asked him to fetch his medicine from another friend’s home.