Rio police charge Justin Bieber over wall tagging

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Canadian teen idol Justin Bieber has been charged with illegally tagging the wall of an abandoned hotel during his stay in Rio, police said Thursday.

A police spokesman described the case as a misdemeanor which will be forwarded to a small-claims court where Bieber, who left the country Wednesday, faces a fine.

Late Tuesday, protected by his security detail, Bieber tagged “Respect privacy” and “I am off” as well as several drawings on a hotel wall in Rio’s tourist southern zone.

A police probe subsequently established that the 19-year-old pop star had received permission from City Hall to tag a wall at another location, the Olympic Village in the Vidigal shantytown.

But Bieber’s entourage felt he would not be safe there.

“The permission from City Hall did not extend to other locations,” a police statement said.

Since his arrival last Friday after a stop in Sao Paulo, Bieber, who gave a concert here Sunday, had grabbed media attention with a series of peccadilloes.

He was photographed emerging under a blanket from a notorious Rio brothel and later vainly tried to bring prostitutes into the posh Copacabana Palace.

Furious that he was not able to do so, the teen sensation reportedly went on a rampage in his suite, breaking various objects valued at nearly $6,000 in total.

Bieber and his entourage were subsequently kicked out of the hotel.

Bieber, who was on the Brazilian leg of his world tour to promote his Believe album, left Rio Wednesday for Paraguay on the next stage of his tour. – Rappler.com