Star's son says he had marijuana

Jaycee Chan, son of kungfu superstar Jackie Chan, was detained for use of illegal substances in Beijing. Photo provided to China Daily

Young netted in drug abuse blitz

Chinese celebrities caught with drugs

Jaycee Chan, the actor son of kung fu movie superstar Jackie Chan, has told police that he had marijuana in his house in Beijing for two years and that a friend brought it to him from abroad.

State broadcaster CCTV aired footage on Tuesday of a police search of the younger Chan's home in Beijing in which he was depicted, his face pixilated, showing officers confronting him with a bag of the drug. Police said they acted on a tip-off.

Apart from saying that he had kept marijuana at his house for two years, Jaycee Chan also admitted that he first smoked the drug eight years ago in the Netherlands, where it is illegal but condoned. He thought it was not addictive.

Since then, he had either smoked marijuana alone or with friends at his house many times, he said.

Beijing police have detained Jaycee Chan on drug-related charges, the latest celebrity to be ensnared in one of China's biggest anti-drug-related crackdowns in two decades.

He was detained on Thursday with 23-year-old Taiwan movie star Kai Ko. Police said both actors tested positive for marijuana and had admitted using the drug, and that 100 grams of it were taken from Jaycee Chan's home.

He is accused of accommodating drug users, an offense that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison - a far more serious charge than that of drug consumption, which Ko is accused of.

China named Jackie Chan as an anti-drug ambassador in 2009.

Ko was part of an anti-drug campaign two years ago, CCTV reported. It showed footage of the campaign in which Ko joins other celebrities in a chorus declaring: "I don't use drugs."

Ko was shown on CCTV, his face pixilated, tearfully apologizing to his fans and family. "I feel very regretful and very sorry to all the people who support me. ... I've been a very bad example. I've made a very big mistake," Ko said.

In a statement online, his management company, Star Ritz Productions, said Ko had received 14 days' detention and had apologized to the public.

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

Hong Kong media reported that Jackie Chan arrived in Beijing late on Monday following his son's detention. The kung fu star has made no comment on the case.