MANILA: Grammy winner Chris Brown partied in Macau with a gold-toothed grin, as officials said Saturday he had left his promoter in a Philippine jail facing a legal dispute with a powerful religious sect.
The 26-year-old American hip-hop star left Manila airport on board a Gulf Stream jet late Friday as immigration police arrested his promoter, John Michael Pio Roda for fraud, immigration bureau spokeswoman Elaine Tan told AFP.
Brown had been barred from leaving the Philippines for three days after the politically-connected Christian group Iglesia ni Cristo filed the fraud complaint against him and his promoter Roda.
The group said it was owed a million-dollar-plus refund after he failed to show up for a New Year’s Eve concert sponsored by them last year.
But Brown secured a emigration clearance certificate on Friday, and immediately flew to Macau to host a party dubbed “Girls Night Out.”
“Yo Manila we love y’all but Macau is poppin’ We’re in a Rolls Royce baby!” Brown said in a video posted on his Instagram account where the pop music lothario has 12 million followers.
“We made it!” one of his companions blurted, in an apparent reference to Brown’s Manila ordeal.
Brown’s gold-plated teeth shimmered in the two videos taken on the backseat of his limousine and in his Macau hotel room.
The tattooed and pierced star said on Twitter that he would perform in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Roda, a Canadian national, will be detained in Manila until the immigration bureau resolves his deportation case for fraud in connection with the Iglesia case and working in the country without a permit, Tan said.
The deportation proceedings is separate from the criminal complaint filed at the justice department, which will determine whether charges will be filed in court, she said.
“Chris Brown was allowed to leave because he had no derogatory record and there was no warrant of arrest against him,” she said.
Justice department officials did not return calls seeking comment on the status of the criminal complaint against Brown.
Brown left Manila on Friday after posting bizarre videos on social media, backflipping and spewing profanity as he begged Philippine authorities to let him leave.
Brown’s ordeal almost cost him his world tour, which includes stops in Israel, Cyprus and the Netherlands.
Chris Brown parties in Macau as Philippines jails his promoter
Chris Brown parties in Macau as Philippines jails his promoter
Elysee Palace silver steward arrested for stealing thousands of euros’ worth of silverware
- The Sevres Manufactory — which supplied most of the furnishings — identified several of the missing items on online auction websites
- Investigators later found around 100 objects in the silver steward’s personal locker, his vehicle and their home
PARIS: Three men will stand trial next year after a silver steward employed at the official residence of the French president was arrested this week for the theft of items of silverware and table service worth thousands of euros, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
The Elysee Palace’s head steward reported the disappearance, with the estimated loss ranging between 15,000 and 40,000 euros (($17,500-$47,000).
The Sevres Manufactory — which supplied most of the furnishings — identified several of the missing items on online auction websites. Questioning of Elysee staff led investigators to suspect one of the silver stewards, whose inventory records gave the impression he was planning future thefts.
Investigators established that the man was in a relationship with the manager of a company specializing in the online sale of objects, notably tableware. Investigators discovered on his Vinted account a plate stamped “French Air Force” and “Sevres Manufactory” ashtrays that are not available to the general public.
Around 100 objects were found in the silver steward’s personal locker, his vehicle and their home. Among the items recovered were copper saucepans, Sevres porcelain, a René Lalique statuette and Baccarat champagne coupes.
The two were arrested Tuesday. Investigators also identified a single receiver of the stolen goods. The recovered items were returned to the Elysee Palace.
The three suspects appeared in court Thursday on charges of jointly stealing movable property listed as part of the national heritage — an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a 150,000-euro fine, as well as aggravated handling of stolen goods.
The trial was postponed to Feb. 26. The defendants were placed under judicial supervision, banned from contacting one another, prohibited from appearing at auction venues and barred from their professional activities.
