Hong Kong pop stars face jail for cannabis arrest in Tokyo (Roundup)

Mar 4, 2009, 7:20 GMT

   Hong Kong - Police in Hong Kong were trying Wednesday to get information about the reported arrest and detention of two of the city's pop stars on drugs charges in Japan.

   Kelvin Kwan, 25, and Jill Vidal, 26, were reportedly arrested in the Dogenzaka shopping centre in Shibuya, Tokyo, on February 24 when shopkeepers reported a foreign man trying to steal goods.

   A police search allegedly found a small quantity of cannabis in a packet of cigarettes Kwan was carrying, according to reports in Hong Kong newspapers Wednesday. Vidal is said to have denied any criminal behaviour.

   The pair, who have taken part in anti-drug campaigns in Hong Kong schools, were arrested and detained and face up to five years in jail under strict Japanese anti-drug laws, reports said.

   Hong Kong Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee on Wednesday told reporters that the city's police were trying to find out about the arrests from their counterparts in Japan.

   Lee added that the Hong Kong government would extend consular assistance to the two pop stars if they needed help.

   Kwan, who holds a Canadian passport, is said to have told Tokyo police he brought the cannabis with him from Hong Kong for his own personal use. Vidal, a British passport holder, denied knowledge of the drugs.

   The pair are among a host of young pop stars from Hong Kong whose so-called Canto-pop music is hugely popular with audiences in mainland China, Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities.