Sheen in rehab

Charlie Sheen entered rehab and is taking a break from US television’s top-rated comedy, 'Two and a Half Men', his publicist said.

“As a preventative measure, Charlie Sheen has entered a rehabilitation facility,” publicist Stan Rosenfield wrote in a four-sentence statement that did not specify why Sheen, 44, was seeking treatment.

The statement sought privacy for the embattled actor.

The move comes roughly two months after Sheen was arrested after a fight with his wife at his Aspen, Colorado, home.

Prosecutors later charged the actor with felony menacing and misdemeanour charges of third-degree assault and criminal mischief. The most serious charge carries a maximum three-year prison term.

Sheen’s wife, Brooke, is also in rehab seeking treatment for an undisclosed reason, her attorney Yale Galanter said on Monday. She is still asking that the charges be dismissed, he said.

Mr Galanter and Mr Rosenfield confirmed that Los Angeles child protective services workers visited the actor and the couple’s infant sons over the weekend.

Mr Galanter and Mr Rosenfield said it was a routine, previously scheduled visit related to the Aspen court case.

Until yesterday, Sheen’s legal problems had not disrupted taping of 'Two and a Half Men', which is one of CBS’ top shows and television’s top-rated comedy.