WESTERN BUREAU — INTERNATIONAL dancehall deejay, Sean Paul, yesterday pleaded guilty to the charge of breaching the Towns and Communities Act in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court, and was ordered to pay a fine of $2,000 or serve 10 days in prison.

But the dapperly dressed artiste, who had taken time off from his US tour to allow his court date to be brought forward, quickly opted to pay the fine and apologised for wasting the court’s time.

Sean Paul, whose real name is Sean Paul Henriques, was slapped with a summons for using expletives during his otherwise blistering performance at the recently-concluded Redstripe Reggae Sumfest. Police served him the papers as he exited the stage.

Yesterday, the deejay’s attorney, Tom Tavares-Finson, told Senior Resident Magistrate Valerie Stephens that because his client did not wish to disrespect the court, he had decided to break his overseas commitment and return to Jamaica to answer to the charges.

He said further that his client had learned his lesson, as the use of the expletives at Reggae Sumfest turned out to be the “most expensive badword” in the deejay’s life.

The attorney added that his client would like to apologise to the court, his fans and the wider community for his behaviour.

“He has disappointed a lot of people, especially those who see him as a role model and he is very sorry,” Tavares-Finson said.

But RM Stephens, after listening to the attorney, said she would like to hear the apology from the “lips” of the deejay.

At this point Sean Paul, nattily dressed in a black suit and matching shirt, rose from his seat and tendered an apology.

He said that he was “very sorry” for wasting the court’s time and promised that there will never be a recurrence.

When the matter came up for mention last month, Tavares-Finson had told RM Stephens that his client was off the island, but had asked him to make a guilty plea on his behalf.

Tavares-Finson explained further that the deejay had contractual arrangements overseas which, if not fulfilled, would result in severe hardships for his client and other persons involved.

But RM Stephens demanded that the deejay put in an appearance before her, and subsequently ordered a warrant for his arrest.

However, the warrant was stayed until September 1, when he was expected to appear in court. But the deejay decided to put his US tour on pause, and appeared in court yesterday to answer to the charge.

His attorney later told the Observer that he was pleased with the outcome of the case.

“I am satisfied with the way it worked out–he apologised to the court and the people of Jamaica, so I am happy, Tavares- Finson said.

Meanwhile, the deejay told the Observer that as a result of his appearance in court yesterday, he missed several planned appearances on radio stations in the US.

He is expected back in the US today to continue his tour.