Jackie Chan’s Son Charged with Drug Offences

Jaycee Chan, son of Hong Kong action film star Jackie Chan, had been formally charged by Chinese prosecutors with drug offences including sheltering others to use drugs.  

Chan, 32, faces a possible three years in jail. In August, he was arrested in Beijing in the company of Taiwanese actor Kai Ko Chen-tung. Police later found over 100 grams of marijuana at Chan's apartment, writes Variety.

In a brief statement on its official microblog, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said it had begun legal proceedings against him for "the crime of sheltering others to take drugs." There was no additional explanation according to The Nation.

Chan is among a string of celebrities detained for vices such as drug use and hiring prostitutes following President Xi Jinping's statement in June that China would "harshly crack down" on narcotics.

Chan's case has been especially embarrassing for his father who was a goodwill spokesman for the China National Anti-Drug Committee in 2009 promoting anti-drug education. The famous kung fu actor did not comment on the charges but he previously expressed his shock and sadness in August.

"The recent news about my son, Jaycee, is very shocking and the impact it has caused on society is heart-breaking.... As a public figure, I feel very ashamed; as his dad, I'm very sad and disappointed... I should also take some of this responsibility because as his dad, I didn't teach him well," Chan wrote on his microblog accoding to Variety.

The charges were announced Monday by the Supreme People's Procurator but a date for hearing was not disclosed.