Jackie Chan's son gets six months in prison for drug offense

Jaycee Chan, son of Chinese kung fu star Jackie Chan, was sentenced to six months in prison on Friday for drug offenses by the Dongcheng District People's Court in Beijing.

The court also fined Jaycee 2,000 yuan (326 U.S. dollars) for providing a venue for drug users.

Jaycee, who arrived at court dressed in sportswear, pleading guilty to allowing others to take drugs four times in his home between 2012 and 2014.

"I broke the law. I deserve to be punished," said Jaycee at court. He said he would not become a recidivist after release, and appealed to the public to forgive him.

On Aug. 14, 2014, Beijing police arrested Sun, a suspected drug user, at a foot massage parlor and brought in three others for questioning, including Jaycee and Taiwan movie star Ko Chen-tung, who were with Sun at the time of his arrest.

Jaycee and Ko tested positive for marijuana and both admitted to having used the drug. Police discovered 117.7 grams of marijuana in a bedroom at Jaycee's house.

Jackie Chan was not present at the court, but in an interview with Xinhua last month, he said he was ashamed by his son's behavior.

The movie star said that he had not used his connections to help Jaycee. "I hope that he can learn from this and perhaps, in the future, become a spokesman and share his experience with young people."

Jaycee is not the only Chinese actor to have been caught up in drug scandals.

In 2014, more than 10 celebrities, mostly actors, were detained by the Beijing Police over drug offenses.

Some of the shamed celebrities blamed their drug use on career pressures or the need to be "inspired".

"Their living environment and social circles are issues for some stars who suddenly become famous," said Pu Cunxin, a Chinese actor and anti-drug ambassador, in a previous interview with Xinhua.

Drug abuse has infected many levels of society, with many drug users living "empty lives" and lacking moral values, according to the Beijing Police drug department.

Currently, Beijing has 26,000 registered drug users, and this is seeing an annual 10 percent rise.

By the end of November 2014, there were 2.87 million registered drug users nationwide, up 18.7 percent from the same period last year.

Besides legal penalties, the public must condemn stars that take drugs, said Li Wenjun, a researcher with the People's Public Security University of China.

"Many young people see celebrities as role models and are influenced by their behavior," said Li.

"When I heard Jaycee had taken drugs, I was shocked," said Liu Huilan, a teacher in Beijing who attended the trial. She said she thought Jaycee was a shy, civilized, gentle man.

"I hope he can come back from this mistake and have a beautiful life," said Liu.

In September last year, the Beijing Trade Association for Performances announced it would not hire celebrities implicated in drug abuse. This was followed-up by an agreement signed by the association and 42 Beijing-based preforming-arts organizations.

"Celebrities should not only be good role models for the public but should be disciplined off stage," said Liu Zhongkui, deputy head of the association.

Sixteen Chinese production companies also pledged not to hire stars involved in prostitution, drugs or gambling.