HONOLULU -- The tragic death of a teenage girl from alcohol poisoning led to a prison sentence Monday.

Everyone involved in the case said the one-year sentence was less important than the message sent by the death of 15-year-old Makamae Au Mook Sang last July. She died of acute alcohol intoxication after playing a drinking party with hard liquor. She went with friends to a party hosted by Michael Clark, 25, at his parents’ house in Hawaii Kai.

Clark apologized to the victim’s family as he was sentenced Monday.

“I feel terrible about what happened,” Clark said, “and I pray for your daughter. Not a day goes by I don't pray for her, and all of you.”

Ah Mook Sang’s mother said faith moved her to forgive Clark.

“When God spoke to me I felt like he was telling me that you, Michael, are just as much a child of God as I am,” said Tracy Ah Mook Sang. “So, God is, like, telling me he loves you too.”

Attorneys and the judge said the tragedy exposes society's tolerance of teenage drinking. Speaking from the bench, Judge Richard Pollack said there is not enough public education about the danger of alcohol. “Who recalls ever viewing a commercial that informs the viewer that too many drinks can result in a teenager never waking up?”

Monday’s sentence actually involved two alcohol-related crimes, combined into a single plea agreement. In 2007, prosecutors said, Clark got in a drunken struggle with hotel security guards and police after he was seen urinating in a hotel elevator. He was charged with five counts of promoting alcohol minors for the party where Ah Mook Sang died. Along with one year in prison, Clark paid a $10,000 fine, will spend five years on probation and do 200 hours of community service.

Prosecutors said they didn't have evidence Clark directly supplied Ah Mook Sang with alcohol or even knew how much she was drinking. He had never met her before the night of the party, which prosecutors said included about a dozen young people.

Clark said he will talk to young people about the risks of alcohol after he serves his time. Clark’s defense attorneys said Clark is dealing with his own alcohol addiction and has not had a drink since he was charged in Ah Mook Sang's death.