NEW YORK: Rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ has been placed on suicide watch in Brooklyn's Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) while awaiting trial.
The 54-year-old was arrested at a Manhattan hotel on September 16 before his indictment was unsealed the next day — revealing charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.
He was remanded to MDC on September 17, after pleading not guilty and denied bail twice this week.
Sources revealed to People in an exclusive that Combs was put on suicide watch as a preventative measure as he is in shock and his mental state is unclear. It is unclear exactly when exactly the decision took affect.
According to the U.S Department of Justice National Institute of Corrections, suicide watch is “supervisory precautions taken for suicidal inmates that require frequent observation.”
MDC which houses 1,600 inmates — many of whom are awaiting trial — is known for being dangerous and understaffed, with a high number of deaths and suicides.
In an application for bail, the disgraced star's attorneys had reasoned that “several courts in this District have recognised that the conditions at Metropolitan Detention Center are not fit for pre-trial detention," reported The Daily Beast.
“Just earlier this summer, an inmate was murdered. At least four inmates have died by suicide there in the past three years.”
In the indictment against Combs, he was accused of forcing victims to have “freak offs” which prosecutors describe as “elaborate and produced sex performances.”
He allegedly used his fame and influence as well as drugs like cocaine, ketamine and oxycodone, to coerce and intimidate women to join the “freak offs”.
The “freak offs” were sometimes allegedly captured on camera without the victims' knowledge.
Federal investigators seized three AR-15 rifles and 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant when raiding his Miami and Los Angeles homes last March.
Another conference hearing for Diddy is set for September 24.
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