text: T.O.P., one of the biggest stars in Asian music, is recovering in intensive care from a suspected drug overdose.
  The 29-year-old South Korean singer was performing mandatory military service as a policeman when he was found unconscious at his station.
  He is not in a life-threatening condition, reports say, but is unresponsive.
  T.O.P., whose real name is Choi Seung-hyun, is a member of Big Bang, one of the world’s most successful boy bands.
  Big Bang’s top five videos on YouTube have a combined 935 million views.
  “Choi’s condition is very bad,” one of his doctors told the AFP.
  T.O.P.’s medical team told the Korea Herald that the singer was suspected to have overdosed on benzodiazepine, a range of prescription tranquilizers used to treat anxiety, among other conditions.
  “He was in a state of stupor and deep drowsiness and only responded to very strong stimulation,” the newspaper said.
  “He is still not breathing properly and is recovering. We are currently attempting to treat him but he’s in an unresponsive state.”
  The Korea Herald said that another doctor believed the singer could recover in a week.
  T.O.P. had been embroiled in a controversy over marijuana use before his hospitalization. It is alleged he smoked marijuana on multiple occasions, even though the drug is illegal in South Korea.
  As a result, T.O.P. was transferred from his compulsory service posting at a police station in affluent Gangnam, where he had been serving for months, to another station.
  The singer was found unconscious in the barracks of his new posting on June 6.
  T.O.P.’s entertainment agency, YG, released a statement apparently written by the singer a few days previously.
  “I deserve punishment for hurting the members, agency, public, fans and family,” he said.
  “I’ll regret this for tens of thousands of years.”