Jaycee Chan, Son Of Movie Star Jackie Chan, Released From Prison After Serving Drug Sentence

Jacyee Chan, the son of movie star Jackie Chan, was released from prison in China early Friday, after serving a six-month sentence for a drug offense.

Chan was arrested by Chinese authorities last year, after a raid on his Beijing home uncovered 100g of marijuana, and the actor tested positive for having the drug in his system.

A statement issued by Chan's entertainment company, M'Stones, said that the actor and singer was released from a Beijing prison shortly after midnight, the Associated Press reported. The statement further added that Chan would hold a news conference early Saturday to “apologize and explain”.

Jaycee's father Jackie, who is one of the most successful contemporary Chinese actors in international cinema, reportedly expressed relief about his son's release, saying that he was looking forward to finishing an album with his son "as soon as possible when he gets out".

According to the BBC, the elder Chan publicly apologized for his son's actions in December, saying on his microblog account that he was "very angry" and "ashamed".

"I failed to discipline him -- now the state is helping me discipline him and make him get rid of all the bad habits," the elder Chan, 60, told the state-run Xinhua news agency last December, CNN reported.

Chan's arrest was part of a crackdown on drug use in China launched by President Xi Jinping last year. In June 2014, Xi called for “forceful measures,” to tackle illegal drug use in the country. Several figures in China's entertainment industry were subsequently arrested on drugs charges.

In addition to Chan many foreigners, as well as at least 11 other Chinese celebrities, were arrested in the drug crackdown during 2014. They included singer Li Daimo, writer Ning Caishen, and actor Gao Hu, the Huffington Post reported.

Despite the crackdown, which has seen 60,500 suspects arrested for alleged drug offenses, and seen authorities seize more than 11 metric tons of narcotics since the latest operation, called “Ban drugs in hundreds of cities,” began in Oct. 2014, the use of illegal drugs in China has continued unabated, the New York Times reports.

Chan the elder is a longtime supporter of China's ruling Communist Party, and has been accused of anti-Americanism in his defense of the country's rulers. He was named an anti-drug ambassador by the Chinese government in 2009.