Chris Brown under probe for possible battery of woman

Singer Chris Brown poses at the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles, California on March 29, 2015. PHOTO: REUTERS

LOS ANGELES • Singer Chris Brown was under investigation by the Las Vegas police last Saturday for possible battery of a woman, the authorities said, nearly seven years after his notorious arrest for beating his then girlfriend Rihanna.

A spokesman for Brown, 26, said in a statement that the woman's accusations are "unequivocally untrue".

The Las Vegas police said in a statement that a woman was at a party inside a hotel room at the Palms Casino Resort last Saturday morning when she tried to take a photo of Brown.

"The victim was alleged to have been battered by Brown, who at the same time took her cell phone," the statement said.

The incident followed the singer's performance last Friday at a club in the city.

The website TMZ.com posted a photo it said showed the woman's eye, which appeared to have some darkness around it.

Officers who went to the hotel to investigate the reported attack found the woman appeared to have minor injuries, but Brown had left the hotel and they could not speak to him, the police statement said. The police did not say how the woman might have been injured. They said investigators had still not heard from Brown.

They listed him as a suspect in misdemeanour crimes of battery and theft, which are less serious in the United States judicial system than a felony.

As of early Saturday evening, they had not arrested him.

His spokesman said his accuser's "claim that she had her phone in her possession inside the after-party and was able to take a photo causing an altercation with Chris Brown is a complete fabrication".

In June 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting pop star Rihanna, who suffered facial injuries and was forced to cancel an appearance at the Grammy Awards.

A month ago, he cancelled a tour to Australia and New Zealand after being refused a visa due to his 2009 domestic violence conviction.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 04, 2016, with the headline Chris Brown under probe for possible battery of woman. Subscribe