Musician Gao Xiaosong released after 6 months in jail

Updated: 2011-11-08 17:59

(chinadaily.com.cn)

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China's Got Talent judge Gao Xiaosong has been released from jail after serving 184 days for a drunken crash that caused a four vehicle pile-up.

 Musician Gao Xiaosong released after 6 months in jail

Famous Chinese musician Gao Xiaosong, who has been released from jail, is interviewed at Beijing International Airport on Nov 8 before leaving for US to attend the second New York Chinese Film Festival.[Photo/qq.com]

The 42-year-old musician was picked up by his wife shortly before 1 am Tuesday from the side door of a detention house while two police cars distracted dozens of reporters hoping to catch a glimpse of the freed star.

Eyewitnesses said Gao looked calm and poised as he played with his mobile phone in the back seat of the car as his wife drove at breakneck speeds to get away from the media.

Ironically, 14 minutes after his release Gao posted a new message on his Weibo, China’s Twitter like micro blogging service, which read “Nov 8, winter begins. Served sentence and started back home. 184 days, my longest half-year. Is everybody fine? Are you free people also wasting your time?”

The couple reached their villa home half an hour later, when Gao, still wearing his signature long hair and showing no signs he had lost weight in jail, opened the car door and walked inside shouting "Shut the door immediately!"

By noon he had already given his first interview and was at Beijing airport bound for the US to take part in the second New York Chinese Film Festival to promote a film directed My Kingdom. “I am just released and still a bit ill at ease. I need some time to get adapted,” Gao said, according to Tencent news portal qq.com. He also apologized for his rude behavior earlier in the morning, “I felt sorry for what happened earlier. I didn’t take a bath for days, so I didn’t want to take pictures. Still I want to thank our media friends for their efforts.”

In the latest post of his Weibo account, Gao shared an English idiom which he said encouraged him over the past half year. “Even a stopped clock gives the right time twice a day.”

It is still unknown if Gao will be re-installed as a judge on the new season of China's Got Talent which starts shooting in mid-November.

The show will arrange for Gao to meet fans in a few days, and all will be dependent on Gao’s attitude towards drunk driving and the public opinion, according to Lu Wei, the publicity head of China's Got Talent.

As revealed by “A word for Gao Xiaosong”, an online activity launched by Sina Weibo, public opinion is in favor of Gao. Many fans voiced their support to Gao, saying they will continue to love him because he dared shoulder his responsibility despite having made mistakes.

Gao was three times over the legal alcohol limit when he crashed his Infiniti SUV into a car stopped at a red light in Beijing on May 9.

A blood test revealed Gao had 243.04 milligrams of alcohol for 100 milliliters of blood, well in excess of the 80 milligram limit within a 100 milliliters of blood.

He became the first celebrity to be punished under tough new traffic rules which came into effect on May 1.