Chinese table tennis star Kong Linghui has been charged with drunken driving after he slammed his Porche to a cab last Friday morning, a top Chinese table tennis official said on Monday.

Liu Fengyan, director of the Chinese Table Tennis and Badminton Administrative Center, confirmed that the former Olympic and world champion was "responsible for a car accident" and he was under the influence when the accident happened.

Kong's navy-blue Porche Boxster-s slammed into a taxi around 3:30 a.m. last Friday near the Beijing Workers' Stadium and the police with the Chaoyang Traffic Bureau detained both Kong and the taxi driver.

The police said no one was injured in the accident.

The 30-year-old Kong, a "grand slam" winner of Olympic, world championships and World Cup men's singles titles, was detained for drunken driving but was released on a plea by the Chinese table tennis authorities, said Liu Fengyan.

Kong will still have to pay a fine of 1,800 yuan (225 U.S dollars) with his driving licence suspended for six months.

Liu told reporters that the case "happened by chance" and "should be seen as a common traffic accident."

"The only difference is that the accident involved a table tennis star, an athlete who usually holds high moral standards," he said.

"It's just an accident, and we pled for leniency to Kong Linghui," the table tennis chief said.

"Please don't blame him too harsh. He has been very, very sorry."

Liu Guoliang, head coach of Chinese men's table tennis team, said the team should learn a lesson from Kong's case and get "even tighter and stricter with management and education."

Kong has not made any comment or explanation.

Kong's drunken driving has been deemed a succeeding case following other erring figures of the highly-watched national side.

Olympic doubles champion Chen Qi, 21, has made a televised public apology after losing his cool following a defeat earlier this year and was sent spending seven days' hard labor in the fields.

Another table tennis sensation Qiu Yike was banned for a year from the national team for his late-night drinking in February.

Before the Athens Olympic Games, four national team members were removed from the roll for dating teammates and were accused of impeding preparations for the 2004 Olympics.

Source: Xinhua