Chris Brown begins Community Service in Virginia

Chris Brown began paying his debts to society at police horse stables in Richmond, Virginia on Wednesday for the first of his 180-day court-ordered community service for beating ex-girlfriend Rihanna. He was sentenced in California last month to five years' probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic violence counseling, after pleading guilty to assaulting Rihanna in February.

The 20-year-old singer worked alongside two others also serving probation, clearing tall weeds and debris by hand and with yard tools. He posted a picture of himself working in the orange vest on his Twitter account. Brown's schedule, including work hours and days, will be flexible, and will involve different types of manual labor such as washing cars and cleaning wall graffiti, Richmond Police spokesman Gene Lepley told the Associated Press.

He also said that the police will not reveal when or where Brown will be working in order to avoid security problems. However, Brown will be paying for extra guards to work while he is performing his community service.

"We'll just take a look at it day by day and certainly would ask for the cooperation of the public and Chris' fans so that he is able to satisfy the work requirements," Lepley said.