(Herald DB)

T.O.P, a member of Big Bang, has been indicted without detention on charges of smoking marijuana, prosecutors said Monday.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said that T.O.P, 29, is suspected of smoking the banned substance four times with a female singer trainee at his home in Seoul in October last year.

The types of illegal drugs he is alleged to have used are marijuana and liquid cannabis through e-cigarettes.

T.O.P initially denied he had smoked marijuana. After he tested positive for marijuana, however, the rapper admitted to using the illegal substance twice only and denied having smoked the substance in liquid form.

T.O.P will be suspended from his conscripted service until he receives a final ruling.

Since the news came to light, Big Bang and its agency YG Entertainment have been struggling to shore up their damaged reputation. Other YG artists, Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon and now-defunct 2NE1 member Park Bom, had previously been engulfed in drug scandals, though neither of them were formally prosecuted.

By Jie Ye-eun (yeeunjie@heraldcorp.com)

Related article: G-Dragon apologizes on behalf of T.O.P at fan event in Japan