Justin Bieber has paid tribute to a young fan who has lost his battle with cancer.

The pop superstar met Jake Schafer in their native Canada in 2011 as part of a Children's Wish Foundation event and treated him to a game of hockey with players from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Bieber, who is currently on the South American leg of his Believe world tour, was left saddened on Tuesday (12Nov13) after discovering Schafer had died on 20 August (13).

Taking to Twitter.com to remember his young pal, he wrote, "Heard little Jake is up in heaven. The world lost a great kid but I'm grateful I got to meet him. RIP Jake".

Schafer suffered from neuroblastoma for three years.