Internet celebrity Weng Chuan-ming (翁雋明), popularly known as Joeman, yesterday apologized for having used marijuana, saying that he had smoked the cannabis in Taiwan and overseas.
Joeman made the remarks in a video on his YouTube channel yesterday, one day after he and several Internet celebrities were released without bail on charges of possessing and possibly using marijuana, the New Taipei City Police Department said.
In Taiwan, marijuana is classified as a Category 2 drug under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
Photo: Screen grab from Weng’s YouTube channel
Weng, 35, and a 27-year-old woman surnamed Ho (何), whose stage name is Lyla, along with her 32-year-old husband, surnamed Tang (湯), were arrested during police raids early on Monday.
Seven other people were also arrested along with the trio in separate searches of their residences and offices in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe (中和), Sanchong (三重) and Sinjhuang (新莊) districts, police said.
A small amount of cannabis, scales and smoking accessories were seized during the raids, which were carried out after authorities received tip-offs, police said.
They all had their urine collected for testing and were all released after being questioned by prosecutors, who are investigating the illicit drug cases, police said.
Apart from being charged with possessing the Category 2 narcotic, the results of the urine tests would determine if they are to face a separate charge of using the illicit drug, police said.
Weng, who earlier this year had co-branded sandwiches with a convenience store chain, yesterday said he had not used marijuana for some time and apologized to his fans for breaking the law.
Saying he would cooperate with the prosecutors in the investigation, he added that he would continue updating his YouTube channel.
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