BERLIN (Reuters) - A barman was jailed Friday for serving at least 44 shots of tequila to a 16-year-old German boy during a faked drinking contest that killed the teen-ager, Berlin's state court said Friday.

The 28-year-old barman gave himself glasses of water, but served the teen-ager with alcohol during the drinking bout the pair had in February 2007. After about an hour the youngster fell into a coma and died five weeks later.

The bartender, who admitted his guilt, was sentenced to three years and five months in jail for causing grievous bodily harm with fatal consequences.

Two other bar staff who were involved in tricking the dead teen-ager were convicted at an earlier trial of causing grievous bodily harm. They were sentenced to receive social training for 10 months, while a third bartender at that trial was acquitted.

The case triggered a national debate over teenage alcohol abuse and the danger of "flat-rate" binge-drinking parties where customers pay a one-off entry fee and are served unlimited strong spirits all night.

(Reporting by Kerstin Rebien; writing by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Matthew Jones)