A Grenadier Guard was fined two weeks of their wages after he drank too much rum and missed his shift protecting Buckingham Palace, a court martial heard.
On August 12, Lance Sergeant Farai Mabasi was supposed to be on guard duty from 2:00am (local time) but decided to drink with a colleague in his barracks, the Daily Mail reported.
The 36-year-old was rung repeatedly by the soldier he was meant to be relieving and was eventually found passed out on another guardsman's floor at nearby Wellington Barracks.
According to the Daily Mail, the court martial was told Mabasi reeked of alcohol when he turned up to the palace later that morning.
Mabasi pleaded guilty to unfitness through alcohol and failure to attend duty.
The Lance Sergeant was initially demoted in rank and sentenced to seven days of detention through an internal disciplinary procedure, but according to Army rules under the process, the rank of Lance Sergeant couldn't be detained without permission.
Daily Mail reported that permission to demote Mabasi wasn't requested so the initial punishment was quashed at an appeal hearing in Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire.
Instead, the 36-year-old was fined £1365 (NZ$2689.) which equalled around 14 days' pay.
Alex Rynn who defended Mabasa said he was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings three times a week since missing his shift.
"[Lance Sergeant Mabasa] is deeply ashamed [and] he knows he has done wrong and is rightly being punished," Rynn said in court.
He added he was drinking rum and fell asleep which is why he didn't answer his phone.
Flight Lieutenant Adams told the appeal hearing Mabasa's original sentence was "unlawful" because of his rank.
"The aggravating feature here is that Lance Sergeant Mabasa is an experienced serviceman and should have known the implications of being under the influence during the course of duty," Adams said.
Judge Advocate General Darren Reed told the court Mabasa couldn't be detained because of his rank.
