Hong Kong - Hong Kong pop star Jill Vidal, given a suspended two-year jail sentence in Japan for heroin possession, arrived home to a media scrum Saturday. Around
100 reporters and photographers were at Hong Kong International Airport to see Vidal, 26, also known as Wei Si, arrive home after two months in custody.

In chaotic scenes, she smiled at journalists and posed briefly for photographers but did not respond to questions shouted at her as she walked through the arrivals hall.

At a court hearing in Tokyo on Friday, Vidal was given a two-year jail term, suspended for three years, after pleading guilty to possession of heroin.

Vidal was arrested with fellow Hong Kong pop star Kelvin Kwan, who was later released without being charged, on suspicion of possessing cannabis. Police later found packets of heroin in her hotel room.

The two performers were arrested in a Tokyo shopping centre on February 24 when shopkeepers claimed a foreign man was shoplifting.

A police search allegedly found a small quantity of cannabis in a packet of cigarettes Kwan, 25, was carrying and the two were taken into custody.

Ironically, before their arrest in Tokyo, both stars took part in anti-drug campaigns in Hong Kong aimed at stopping youngsters from using drug.

Kwan, who holds a Canadian passport, told Tokyo police he brought the cannabis with him from Hong Kong for his own personal use. He was released without charge and returned to Hong Kong.

The pair are among a host of young pop stars from Hong Kong whose Canto-pop music is hugely popular with audiences in mainland China, Taiwan and overseas Chinese communities. (dpa)