The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office earlier this week agreed to let actor Kai Ko (柯震東) receive treatment for marijuana addiction at his own expense as a condition for deferred prosecution.
The prosecutors made the decision after summoning Ko again for questioning following urine and hair samples tests.
The hearing lasted for nearly two hours and it was revealed that the result of the hair test matched Ko’s statement — that he had smoked marijuana eight times over the past two years.
According to Ko, he got the drug from Hong Kong actor Jaycee Chan (房祖名), son of Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan (成龍), and smoked it while in China.
The prosecutors believe his statement to be true.
Ko told reporters after the hearing that: “I know I should not do marijuana again,” and that he felt sorry for colleagues in the entertainment industry who have been banned from China after a crackdown on celebrity drug use.
Ko had asked to undergo treatment at Cathay General Hospital, but prosecutors said that defendants who have been caught on category two offenses under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例) can only receive drug rehabilitation treatment at the Songde branch of Taipei City Hospital.
The prosecutors said that because of his good attitude, they agreed to allow him enter a rehabilitation program at the Songde branch.
Prosecutors said it meant that during the two-year period of deferred prosecution, Ko has to cooperate with the treatment schedule and receive regular urine tests. If he is found to have used drugs again, the deferred prosecution will be revoked and he will go on trial.
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