Thailand's Michael Jackson jailed for drunk-driving crash

Thailand’s “Michael Jackson” nickname has been attached to a prison sentence after a court jailed singer Manasawin Nantasen, 64, for two years over a drunk-driving crash that killed two people. On Wednesday, Bangkok’s criminal court ruled that the entertainer drove under the influence and was responsible for deaths, sentencing him to two years. The crash occurred in October 2024 when he was driving across a bridge in Bangkok and hit a stationary motorbike, killing a 28-year-old woman onboard. Police said he also knocked her brother, 21, off the bridge; he later died in hospital. A video showing the singer kneeling in grief went viral. Court documents said he surrendered and gave testimony beneficial to the case and showed remorse by attending the victims’ funeral and paying compensation, with his driver’s license revoked.