At a court hearing, a London judge sentenced George Michael to eight weeks in jail for driving while under the influence of drugs.
Michael, 47, pleaded guilty last month to driving under the influence of drugs and marijuana possession after he crashed his Range Rover into the side of a photo store on July 4 in north London.
District Judge John Perkins sentenced Michael at the Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court. Michael will likely spend four weeks in prison and the rest of his sentence on probation. Michael was charged under his legal name, Georgios Panayiotou, but asked to be addressed in court by his stage name. He spoke only once during the hearing, to confirm his legal name and address.
The judge banned Michael from driving for five years and imposed a fine of $1,930 for the offense.
"It does not appear that you took proper steps to deal with what is clearly an addiction to cannabis. That’s a mistake which puts you and, on this occasion, the public at risk," said Perkins.
Perkins said that a prison term for Michael was inevitable because of Michael’s previous conviction.
The police found Michael slumped at the wheel of his car and "spaced out" after the July 4 incident. After a blood sample was taken, marijuana was found in his system.
Michael’s lawyer, Mukul Chawla, said the singer had personally repaid the cost of the damage to the owner of the Snappy Snaps store.
"The only thing that Mr. Michael has specifically asked his lawyers to address to the court is his profound shame and horror of having repeated the conduct of 2006," Chawla told the judge.
