Jackie Chan’s son detained in drug bust

BEIJING, China (AP) — The actor-son of Hong Kong action superstar Jackie Chan has been detained in Beijing on drug-related charges, the latest high-profile celebrity to be ensnared in one of China’s biggest anti-drug crackdowns in two decades.

Jaycee Chan, 31, was detained last Thursday together with the 23-year-old Taiwanese movie star Kai Ko, Beijing police said late Monday on their official microblog, identifying them only by their surnames, ages and nationalities. It was unclear why the detentions were announced several days later.

Police said both actors tested positive for marijuana and admitted using the drug, and that 100 grams of it were taken from Chan’s home.

Jaycee Chan’s management, M’Stones International, apologized to the public on his behalf for the “social impact” caused, in a statement on their website. It said they would “supervise his rehabilitation and help him return to the right path.”

The detentions follow a declaration in June by President Xi Jinping that illegal drugs should be wiped out and that offenders would be severely punished. In Beijing alone, more than 7,800 people have been caught in the crackdown, police said.

A string of celebrities have been among those detained, including Gao Hu, who acted in Zhang Yimou’s 2011 movie, The Flowers of War. Last week, 42 Beijing performing arts associations and theater companies signed a pledge to not hire any actors connected with drugs in an event organized by the capital’s Narcotics Control Office and the Beijing Cultural Bureau.

Pi Yijun, an anti-drug adviser for the Beijing government, said authorities were targeting celebrities because “these people have a large number of fans, so their behavior tends to have a huge influence on young people.”

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV aired footage of a police search of the younger Chan’s home in Beijing in which he is depicted, his face pixelated, showing officers where he stashed bags of marijuana. Police said they acted on a tipoff from the public.

Chan is accused of accommodating drug users, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment – a far more serious charge than that of drug consumption. Two other people detained in the same case were accused of selling drugs while Ko is accused of drug consumption.

Madonna

Madonna memorabilia for auction block

LOS ANGELES, USA (AFP) — Madonna memorabilia including nude photographs of the Queen of Pop will go on sale in November at an auction that will also include some of her most famous outfits and some of her lyrics.

The Marilyn Monroe-inspired gown and jewellry that Madonna donned in her 1984 Material Girl music video will also be up for grabs, Beverly Hills-based Julien’s Auctions said yesterday.

Highest bidders will also be able to take home some of the many awards won by Madonna, as well as handwritten notes on concert choreography and working lyrics.

The personal and professional collection includes a day planner from 1988 in which Madonna jotted down notes on everything from dates with her then-husband Sean Penn to an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.

More risque are negatives and prints of nude photographs taken of the diva for Penthouse magazine.

Fans could even snap up Madonna’s 1972 junior high school yearbook and signed checks, as well as a document related to her separation from Penn.

Outfits Madonna wore in movies such as Evita, A League of Their Own and The Next Best Thing will also be on offer.

With price estimates ranging from US$600 to US$40,000, the auction will take place on November 7 and 8 over the course of four sessions.

The public will be able to get a glimpse of the collection November 3-7.

Madonna, 56, has sold over 300 million records over the course of her career and is one of the most powerful artists in the world, according to Forbes.

Khurram Syed Sher

Former ‘Canadian Idol’ acquitted on terrorism

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — A former “Canadian Idol” contestant was acquitted yesterday of conspiring to facilitate terrorism, with the judge finding insufficient evidence that he intended to join a plot.

Khurram Syed Sher, an Ontario doctor whose 2010 arrest got international attention because of his appearance on the contest show, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors had accused Sher of agreeing with two other men to raise money, send cash abroad, take paramilitary training, make and use explosives, and scout targets in Canada.

Superior Court Justice Charles Hackland said that while Sher probably harbored jihadist sympathies, he was not convinced the doctor genuinely intended to join a conspiracy.

Prosecutor Jason Wakely said it was the first time someone was found not guilty after going to trial on charges under Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act, which was introduced in 2001 in the wake of Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to prosecutor Jason Wakely. The prosecutor said he was disappointed and an appeal would be considered.

During the investigation, police seized terrorist literature, videos and manuals, along with dozens of electronic circuit boards allegedly designed to detonate homemade bombs remotely.

Sher, 32, has been free on bail for years, under strict conditions.

“It feels great,” Sher said outside the courthouse after the verdict.

His defense lawyer, Michael Edelson, said Sher will now focus on rebuilding his life.

“His career has been ended, he’s lost over a million dollars in income, prestige in the community, and it’s been a very, very tough four years,” Edelson said. “His family has left, he’s had reduced access to his children — it’s been tragic.”

Sher appeared on the singing-contest show in 2008, singing a comical version of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated,” complete with dance moves that included a moonwalk.

A graduate of Montreal’s McGill University, Sher worked as an anatomical pathologist at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital in St. Thomas, Ontario before his arrest.

At the trial, the prosecution cited evidence gathered through wiretaps of phone calls, intercepted emails and covertly installed listening devices.

Prosecutors played six segments of sometimes sketchy audio culled from electronic surveillance of a July 20, 2010, meeting in Ottawa between Sher and the two other men charged in the case.

Prosecutors had portrayed the meeting as a pivotal moment for the purported plotters. But Sher’s lawyers characterised the visit as a friendly stopover en route from Montreal to his new job in southern Ontario.

Defense arguments painted Sher as an avid hockey fan who gave thousands of dollars to charity and helped with earthquake relief efforts in Pakistan.

Sher testified that he doesn’t believe in violence, but rather giving back to the community.

source: jamaica observer