bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Amy Nip

Vivienne Chow

The father of pop singer Jill Vidal  made a tearful apology yesterday for his daughter's involvement in a drug possession case in Japan that has put the 26-year-old's singing career on indefinite hold.  
And Nathan Cheung Ka-fung,   general manager of the  singer's record label, Amusic,  said Vidal's showbiz career would be suspended for a 'fairly long time'. 
However, if Vidal were convicted, Mr Cheung said, Amusic would terminate her contract immediately. 
'We have the responsibility to make such a decision, otherwise the public will think that artists can always get away with the mistakes they make,' Mr Cheung said. 'No matter what the truth is, this incident has already had a negative impact on society and youngsters.' 
Vidal and fellow singer Kelvin Kwan Chor-yiu,  25, were arrested in Japan last week on suspicion of shoplifting and drug possession. 
Vidal's father, Joey Vidal,  begged the media and the public to give his daughter another chance. 
'I hope everyone can give my daughter a chance,' he said.
Mr Vidal said he and Janice,  Vidal's twin sister and also a pop singer for the same label, were very upset about the incident. 
He said he was truly sorry for not being able to provide a healthy family for the sisters and broke into tears. The Vidal sisters' parents divorced when they were young. 
Mr Cheung said Vidal would be suspended from all showbiz jobs for a fairly long time upon her return to Hong Kong. 
'The reason for our decision is that the negative image brought by Jill's link to a drug case affects  society's impression of artists and the entertainment business as a whole,' he said. 
He added that the decision had been made by Vidal's family, her record company and management so that Vidal 'will have time to think things over and learn the lesson'. 
Vidal and Kwan, who have been linked romantically, were arrested in the Dogenzaka  shopping area in Shibuya,  Tokyo,  on February 24. 
Police, responding to a call from a shopkeeper who suspected the singers of theft, found a rolled-up cigarette containing about 0.2 grams of cannabis on Kwan. 
An Amusic spokesman said Vidal's manager, Joe Chan,  had gone to Japan yesterday to meet  record company colleagues and lawyers in Japan to learn about the latest developments in the case. 
Jill Vidal and Kwan took part in a government anti-drugs campaign two years ago. 
Commissioner for Narcotics Sally Wong Pik-yee  said the government would be more cautious in future when choosing artists as anti-drugs  representatives. 
'We will check more thoroughly... we will seek information from more people to see whether the artist leads a healthy lifestyle, and if he or she had taken drugs before,' Ms Wong said. 'However, we will not make a requirement for an artist to undergo a drug test first.' 
She said such a test could not find out if the artist had taken drugs a long time ago,  nor could it forecast future behaviour.
Scarlett Pong Oi-lan,  chairman of the Action Committee Against Narcotics'  preventative education and publicity sub-committee,  said it was hard not to invite artists - who were popular with teenagers - to take part in anti-drugs promotions.
But even if the artists were required to sign a commitment not to take drugs before they attend functions, there could be no 100 per cent guarantee against drug use.



Father of singer sorry for her drugs run-in