Prosecution seeks two years' probation for BIGBANG'S T.O.P for illegal drug use
On Thursday (29 June) at 11.30am KST, South Korean artiste T.O.P, member of popular K-pop group BIGBANG, attended his first court hearing for illegal drug use at a Seoul district court at Seocho-gu.
During the trial, the prosecution sought a two-year probation for T.O.P, whose real name is Choi Seung-hyun, with a 10-month prison sentence if he violates his probationary sentence.
According to Yonhap News, T.O.P pleaded guilty to all charges, and also appealed for a lighter jail sentence. He faced a total of four charges of smoking marijuana with a 21-year-old female trainee, Han Seo-hee, at his home between 9 and 12 October 2016.
He said, “My disheveled state of mind led me to make irrevocable mistakes. I deeply regret this moment in my life.”
T.O.P’s defense counsel said, “Mr Choi has been receiving treatment for depression and anxiety disorder. He was suffering from an immense amount of stress before his military enlistment. He has been emotionally unstable for a while, and after consuming alcohol, he committed this crime on impulse. He has also already been dismissed from the Korean military as a conscripted policeman as a result of this incident that happened before his enlistment.”
The defense also requested that T.O.P be fined instead of receiving imprisonment.
T.O.P will be sentenced on 20 July.
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