Thailand’s ‘Michael Jackson’ jailed over fatal drink-driving crash

A Thai court jailed on Wednesday a singer dubbed Thailand’s Michael Jackson for two years for killing two people while driving while drunk.

Manasawin Nantasen, known as Tik Shiro, rose to fame in the late 1980s and 1990s for his signature fedora hat, leather jackets and slick dance moves, earning comparisons to global pop icon Michael Jackson.

The 64-year-old singer was driving his vehicle across a bridge in Bangkok in October 2024 when he hit a stationary motorbike.

He killed a 28-year-old woman who was on the bike, and knocked her brother, 21, off the bridge, leaving him critically injured, police said.

The brother later died in hospital from his injuries.

A video of the singer kneeling in grief at the scene went viral across Thailand, drawing attention in a country where influential figures are sometimes perceived as enjoying impunity.

A criminal court in Bangkok on Wednesday sentenced Manasawin to two years in prison for “drunk driving resulting in loss of life”.

“The defendant surrendered and provided testimony beneficial to the case,” the court statement said.

It added that Manasawin had shown remorse by attending the victims’ funeral and paying compensation to their families, but ordered the revocation of his driver’s license.

In another case involving a celebrity, rock musician Sek Loso was released from prison on Wednesday after serving just over a year for drugs and illegal firearm possession.

However, many Thais believe that the rich and famous are not always held accountable.

In 2012, the heir to the Red Bull fortune, Vorayuth Yoovidhya, was accused of ploughing his Ferrari into a policeman in a wealthy Bangkok neighbourhood, killing him on the spot.

There was an investigation but he was never charged.

A son of former Pheu Thai MP Chalerm Yubamrung allegedly shot a man dead in a crowded Bangkok nightclub after a dispute in 2001, but was later acquitted on grounds of weak evidence.

AFP

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