February 01, 2008	Friday	Muharram 22, 1429

LOS ANGELES, Jan 31: Troubled pop icon Britney Spears was rushed to hospital early on Thursday for the second time this month following renewed fears over the singer’s mental health, reported said.

Spears was whisked from her Beverly Hills home to the UCLA Medical Center at about 1:30am (0930 GMT) and was placed under a 72-hour evaluation order used for people deemed a danger to themselves or others, reports said.

The dead-of-night drama came after a psychiatrist treating Spears had contacted Los Angeles police to set the events in motion, celebrity news website TMZ reported, citing “law enforcement sources”. A motorcade the length of a football field escorted the pop star’s ambulance and kept a crowd of media at bay, while a police helicopter hovered overhead to clear air space, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The operation appeared to have been “carefully planned over a period of time”, the Times said, in stark contrast to the chaotic scenes earlier this month when Spears was rushed to hospital following a custody stand-off.

Authorities entered the hilltop home shortly after 1am and were inside for about 10 minutes before they spirited Spears away through a side entrance, a Los Angeles Times reporter told CNN.

“We know that her psychiatrist did call the Los Angeles police to her home late Wednesday,” reporter Andrew Blankstein said. “We don’t know exactly what prompted that call.” Spears was told of her impending confinement by her psychiatrist and did not resist when paramedics arrived and placed her on a gurney, TMZ said.—AFP