CHIBA, Japan, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- A Japanese court gave an Australian professional golfer a suspended prison sentence for cocaine use and possession.
Wayne Perske, 36, was given a 1 1/2-year prison term that was suspended for three years, Kyodo News reported Monday.
Perske had been convicted of using cocaine and having about 1.25 grams of cocaine powder in his pocket at a bar in the city of Chiba on Oct. 22. He was in Japan to play in a golf tournament in which he failed to advance beyond a preliminary round.
Perske told the Chiba District Court he used the drug because he was feeling lonely being away from his family due to overseas competitions, but Judge Yasunobu Hosoya said Perske "needs to live with such kind of stress as a professional athlete playing abroad."
Hosoya, suspended the sentence, however, because Perske's wife promised during the court hearing to supervise him from now on, Kyodo News reported.
