One Direction singer won't be charged

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One Direction's Louis Tomlinson is not expected to be charged after getting into a scuffle with a photographer at LAX airport, judicial officials said on Tuesday (April 11).
One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson (above) was booked for misdemeanor battery.after the March 3 incident. PHOTO: AFP

LOS ANGELES • One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson is not expected to be criminally charged over a tussle with a photographer at the Los Angeles airport last month, judicial officials said on Tuesday.

The British singer and the photographer, who was not named, will instead be summoned to the Los Angeles City Attorney's office to be interviewed.

They will be "advised of the law and ways to avoid similar incidences", the City Attorney's office said in a statement. "Typically, there is no further action taken by our office after the hearing," it added.

The office said both parties would be asked to attend the meeting later this month. It noted that it reserved the right to file charges for up to one year.

Tomlinson, 25, was arrested at the airport on March 3 after a scuffle with a paparazzi photographer. The latter was trying to take photos of the singer and his girlfriend.

Social media video showed the photographer on the ground. The singer was booked for misdemeanour battery. Tomlinson's lawyer, Mr Martin Singer, said at the time that the star was not at fault and that the paparazzi caused the altercation.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on April 13, 2017, with the headline One Direction singer won't be charged. Subscribe