Jaycee Chan's letter to mum 'moved' prison staff

Jaycee Chan's letter to mum 'moved' prison staff

HONG KONG - A letter written by Jaycee Chan to his mother while in detention helped to lighten his sentence for a drug offence, said a report.

The three-page letter in which Chan apologised to his mother, former actress Lin Feng Jiao, moved prison staff, who felt he had shown remorse over his offence.

That was one reason for the six-month jail sentence meted out to him on Friday in a Beijing court for providing a venue for drug users, said Apple Daily, which quoted from a story in Ming Pao Weekly.

Chan, who was arrested in Beijing with Taiwan actor Kai Ko on Aug 14 last year, will be released on Feb 14.

The sentence reportedly came as a relief to his parents, as Jackie Chan - his movie-star father - had heard that he would be locked up for two years.

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Ming Pao Weekly cited unnamed sources for its report.

In the letter, the 32-year-old complained of his father's "insufficient love" for him as he told his mother why he fell into the drug habit.

The younger man said that, having been born into a celebrity family and as the megastar's son, he shouldered enormous stress.

Although he led a carefree life, he felt that he faced an empty future.

He said that after he mistakenly met the wrong friends and was introduced to drugs, he used them to forget his problems.

He also said he regretted his error, promised not to be wilful and to turn over a new leaf.

Lin received the letter, which was seen by prison staff for security checks, 10 days ago, Ming Pao Weekly said.

The court was also lenient with him because of his voluntary confession and cooperation while the case was being investigated, it added.

Before the sentencing, Jackie Chan had publicly stressed that he had not used his connections to save his son, nor would he get lawyers to help the younger man get out sooner.

Some 117.7g of marijuana was found in Jaycee Chan's Beijing home. He admitted to providing a venue for drug users, including Ko, four times since 2012. Both tested positive for marijuana.

This article by The Straits Times was published in MyPaper, a free, bilingual newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.

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