Brown avoids jail for Rihanna beating

A US judge said Chris Brown must serve five years of probation and perform six months of community labour for beating Rihanna.

The 20-year-old appeared in a Los Angeles court today to be formally sentenced for the February attack on his then-girlfriend.

Brown's sentence will be served in his home state of Virginia. He will have to return to Los Angeles frequently to update a judge on his progress.

Brown was arrested hours after the February attack and pleaded guilty to felony assault in June.

Brown apologised to fans in a video released and said he has apologised to Rihanna, who did not appear in court today.

The judge said the chief of police in Richmond, Virginia, will supervise Brown's community labour directly.