Jackie Chan says son improved in prison

Martial arts film star Jackie Chan, whose son Jaycee Chan recently spent six months in prison for consuming drugs, said in an interview that the prison stint had done his son a lot of good and even joked about sending him back there every year.

"He used to be really lackadaisical and not focused enough. Now, he would place his shoes properly and always finishes the food his mother cooks for him. He even helps take the dishes to the sink and folds the clothes," Efe news agency quoted Chan as telling Hong Kong daily Oriental Morning Post in an interview in which he spoke about son Jaycee, 32, also an actor.

In response to this remarkable change in attitude, Chan said he even jokes with Jaycee about the possibility of him spending six months in prison every year.

"I laughed and asked him to request to be jailed. It is quiet in there and he can write songs," said the 60-year-old actor, known for films like "Rush Hour", "Rumble in the Bronx" and "Drunken Master".

Jaycee was found guilty of "the crime of sheltering others to take drugs" by a Beijing court, punishable in China with up to three years in prison.

His lawyers were able to negotiate for him a reduced sentence, which he served from August 2014 to February 2015.

He was arrested in August last year along with Taiwanese actor Ko Chen-tung, after they were caught smoking marijuana at his Beijing home.

Their arrest occurred during a recently launched campaign against drug use in large Chinese cities which has already netted around 8,000 people on drug-related charges, including major celebrities such as actors, singers and film directors.