Li Li, the wife of pop singer Man Wenjun, has been arrested for "providing a place for others to take drugs" during a birthday bash, the Chaoyang people's procuratorate said yesterday.

"The prosecution will begin court proceedings next month," the procuratorate's Gao Xuesong told China Daily.

The couple and 10 others were detained at Beijing's popular Coco Banana club while celebrating Li's 40th birthday on May 19 after police were tipped off.

Nine of those detained, including the 40-year-old singer and his wife, later tested positive for drug use.

Man was released after a two-week detention. Last Monday he apologized on television for his "bad influence on society".

Insiders said Li is a businesswoman from a rich family and keeps close contact with people in the industry.

She faces up to three years' imprisonment.

But Wang Songling, a defense lawyer with the All-China National Lawyers' Association, said Li's punishment is not expected to be severe.

"She could be spared imprisonment because the amount of the drugs involved is small and she is a first-time offender," Wang said.

The club where Li held her party was closed for a week and reopened on May 30, an employee told China Daily over the phone.

An official from the Beijing municipal public security bureau who did not want to be named said the club was closed during the investigation and reopened once that was complete.

An entertainment venue can be shut down for three to six months if it provides places for drug consumption, gambling and other illegal activities.

Xia Xueluan, a Peking University sociologist, said celebrities should be conscious of their position as role models.

"But the public should be reminded that celebrities are human and make mistakes too," Xia said.

(China Daily June 18, 2009)