The R&B stars were allegedly involved in two unreported episodes of domestic violence prior to Brown's assault on Rihanna in February

source: www.guardian.co.uk

R&B star Chris Brown had been involved in two unreported incidents of domestic violence prior to his February assault of Rihanna, according to a probation officer's report. Brown shoved Rihanna in a dispute late last year, and broke the windows of a car in an argument with the singer three weeks before she was found bruised and bleeding by Los Angeles police.

Details of the incidents emerged after Brown's probation officer filed a report at a hearing earlier this week. Brown was formally sentenced to five years' probation and 180 days of community labour, as agreed in a plea deal this June. He had been charged with the felonies of assault and making criminal threats against Rihanna following their altercation in the early hours of 8 February.

Three months before the assualt, however, Brown and Rihanna had another violent exchange. The pair were in Europe, the LA Times reports, when a "verbal dispute" broke out. Rihanna slapped Brown, who responded by pushing her into a wall.

The pattern repeated in January, when the celebrity couple were on holiday in Barbados, where Rihanna was brought up. After an argument broke out, Brown got out of the Range Rover they were driving and shattered both the front driver and passenger side windows.

Neither Rihanna, 21, nor Brown, 19, was injured in either incident. The altercations were not reported to authorities.

In an interview with the probation officer, Brown said he was "ashamed and embarrassed" and did not want to "carry on [the] cycle [of violence]". Besides probation, community labour and an order that he stay away from Rihanna, judge Patricia Schnegg instructed Brown to undergo a year-long domestic violence course in his home state of Virginia.