Bai Ling arrested for shoplifting in L.A.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chinese-born actress Bai Ling was arrested for shoplifting at Los Angeles International Airport after a gift shop employee accused her of stealing two magazines and a pack of batteries, police said on Thursday.

Ling, who has appeared in such films as "The Crow" and "Red Corner," was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon after leaving the store with two tabloid magazines and the batteries, Los Angeles Airport Police spokesman Jim Holcomb said.

She was booked on suspicion of shoplifting the items worth $16, a misdemeanor, and ordered to appear in court on May 5.

"She was pointed out by somebody in the store has having shoplifted," Holcomb said. "She went to another gate and they basically confronted her and that was it."

Holcomb said the 37-year-old actress was cooperative and admitted to police officers that she hadn't paid for the merchandise.

On her personal blog, Ling posted pictures of herself standing outside the Southwest Airlines terminal at LAX on Wednesday but did not mention the arrest.

Ling was born in Chengdu, China and appeared in Chinese films before moving to the United States in the 1990s and landing her first major Hollywood film role in "The Crow."

She has since starred opposite film star Richard Gere in "Red Corner" in 1997 and on the TV series "Lost."

Reuters