Chinese singer, pop star Chen Yufan busted for drugs in Beijing

Chén Yǔfán 陈羽凡, a 43-year-old Chinese singer best known as half of the pop-rock duo Yǔquán 羽泉, has been labeled a “drug addict” by Beijing police and ordered to pay regular visits to a local rehab center for the next three years, the Beijing News reports (in Chinese).

On November 24, “Ping An Shijingshan,” the official Weibo account of the Shijingshan branch under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, announced that tips from the public had led to the arrest of a singer for drug possession. According to the notice, the singer was with an unemployed 25-year-old woman surnamed Hewas when caught at home, where the police discovered 7.96 grams of crystal meth and 2.14 grams of marijuana. Both of them tested positive for illegal drugs.

While the notice didn’t disclose the full name of the artist, the police account commented, “Drugs withered ‘the prettiest’” (毒品，让“最美”凋零), which made an obvious pun on one of the band’s hit songs. Later, Hú Hǎiquán 胡海泉, the other half of the duo, lamented the “depravity” of his musical partner. “Why did you hide this from me for so long? Why did you choose such a stupid method to escape reality?” he wrote on Weibo.

According to documents that were part of the internal investigation, acquired exclusively by Beijing News, Chen broke the law by “snorting drugs” and is required to participate in a three-year rehabilitation program at a local detox facility. While this was the first time Chen has been arrested for drug use, he has been labeled a “drug addict” in accordance with Chinese drug laws.