Las Vegas battery case against singer Chris Brown dropped

(Reuters) - A misdemeanour battery case against R&B singer Chris Brown has been dropped after the man who accused the performer of punching him during a game of basketball in Las Vegas decided against pressing charges, police said on Tuesday. News that the Grammy-winning recording star was off the hook in his latest brush with the law came as Brown celebrated his 26th birthday. The alleged pre-dawn confrontation occurred early Sunday on a guest court at the Palms Casino Resort hotel, and the police said the victim reported the incident in a phone call from the hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Brown was subsequently given the option of signing a misdemeanour battery citation or having the case submitted to the Clark County District Attorney's Office for possible prosecution. But on Tuesday the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department issued a revised statement saying the victim had told detectives "that he no longer wants to go forward with criminal charges," adding, "This case will not be pursued any further." In Nevada, a misdemeanour battery conviction carries a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine. Neither Brown's attorney nor his publicist were immediately available for comment. Brown's latest legal predicament came about six weeks after a judge in Los Angeles ended his probation stemming from the performer's 2009 guilty plea to charges of assaulting his then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna, on the eve of the Grammy Awards. Brown's probation was revoked in 2013 after he was accused of punching a man who was trying to get a picture of the singer in Washington, D.C. The following year, he was kicked out of a court-ordered rehab programme in California for breaking the rules and was jailed on that breach of probation for nearly three months. (Reporting by Steve Gorman from Los Angeles; Editing by Eric Beech)