David Ho, the Vancouver billionaire businessman and former police board member, has pleaded guilty to unlawfully confining a prostitute and possessing a prohibited weapon.

Ho made the plea in Vancouver provincial court on Thursday and was handed a one-year suspended sentence and a $5,000 fine. He will be on probation during the term of the sentence.

Crown counsel Elliot Poll said Ho must also get drug treatment and perform 45 hours of community service.

In December 2008, police arrested and charged Ho with seven offences after an incident at his luxury Vancouver home.

At the time, police said Ho met the woman on a chat line and brought her back to his home but wouldn’t let her leave the next morning.

Police said there was a violent struggle, the woman called 911 and she broke her ankle while trying to escape.

“On that occasion, there was an exchange of money for sex,” Poll said.

Ho also pleaded guilty to breaching his bail conditions while awaiting trial.

He was the founder of the now-defunct Harmony Airways and in 2005 was named Businessman of the Year by the Vancouver Junior Board of Trade.