Thesun 2009-06-30 Page12 Jacksons Father Expresses Concern

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theSun

| TUESDAY JUNE 30 2009

news without borders Questions mount over animal kingdom

Jackson’s father expresses concern “(Murray) was the one who suggested the autopsy to the family while they were still in the hospital. He didn’t understand why Michael Jackson had died,” Chernoff was quoted as saying. Meanwhile Jackson’s family have yet to finalise funeral plans and were due to meet activist Rev Al Sharpton on Sunday to discuss plans for a tribute. Sharpton was cited in several media reports as saying Jackson’s family was considering a series of simultaneous memorials around the world to reflect the huge appeal of the late “King of Pop.” “Reverend Sharpton will discuss with the family ideas that people from around the world have sent him about how they would like to memorialise Michael Jackson,” a spokeswoman for Sharpton said. However an unofficial memorial appeared to already be underway at Los Angeles’ famous Shrine Auditorium, where the cream of the African-American music, acting and sporting worlds was

gathering for the BET Awards. A galaxy of stars paid fulsome tribute to Jackson as they walked the red carpet, hailing his role as a star who had helped break racial barriers. “You know, my man is the greatest,” hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy Combs” told CNN. “He’s one of the reasons why Barack Obama’s president... He started the change in the world about how African-Americans are perceived.” “We miss him and we love him and we just feel devastated,” said soul singer Alicia Keys, urging people to remember Jackson in a “respectful, positive way.” Asked how Jackson had influenced her, Keys replied: “In every way. How could he not influence us to break the barrier and to think bigger, and to try new things and to break the rules? “Tonight is a true memorial for him. It’s really about honouring him.” – AFP

» Blacks salute King of Pops

A young supporter of recently Jackson dances during a candlelight vigil for the singer outside of “Hitsville USA”.

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AFPPIX

LOS ANGELES: The father of Michael Jackson said he remained concerned about the circumstances of his son’s death here on Sunday as the tragic pop icon’s personal doctor protested his innocence. In a surprising first public appearance since the death of his superstar son, family patriarch Joe Jackson appeared on the red carpet of a Los Angeles awards show dedicated to the African-American entertainment industry. The Jackson family is reportedly angry at the “unanswered questions” concerning the role of Dr Conrad Murray in the final hours of Michael Jackson’s life. Lawyers for Murray insist he has been cleared of wrongdoing. However speaking to a CNN reporter at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards, Jackson, 79, said he continued to harbour misgivings about the sudden death of his son at the age of 50. “I have a lot of concerns. I can’t get into that, but I don’t like what happened,” Jackson said, before directing questions to a family lawyer who declined to comment further. “We can’t talk about that now,” attorney Londell McMillan said. “There is a second autopsy that is underway and we’ll let that process take its course at this time. We’ll have more details at a later point.” Los Angeles police conducted a second interview with Murray on Saturday but cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing, the physician’s lawyers said. The 51-year-old cardiologist, who became part of Jackson’s staff in March to help the singer prepare for a concert comeback in London, has faced intense speculation amid reports he injected Jackson with the potent prescription painkiller Demerol just before he died. However a lawyer for Murray said on Sunday that reports of an injection were “absolutely false,” the first time the allegation has been denied. “There was no Demerol. No OxyContin,” Edward Chernoff, an attorney for Murray was quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times, adding that Murray had discovered Jackson unconscious in the bedroom of his home.

Jackson... I can’t get into that, but I don’t like what happened.

LOS ANGELES: Besides leaving a musical legacy, Michael Jackson orphaned an array of exotic pets with some of them unaccounted for and even his beloved chimpanzee Bubbles (pix) depending on donations. In what was once seen mostly as a harmless eccentricity, Jackson at the height of stardom amassed a private zoo of giraffes, tigers and other foreign animals at Neverland, his sprawling fantasy estate in California. Nearly all of the animals have been moved to new homes in the past few years as Jackson’s personal and financial woes worsened, with animal rights activists saying some have become roadside attractions in uncertain conditions. Bubbles, once the world’s best known ape who slept in the superstar’s bedroom and mastered his Moonwalk dance, has lived since 2005 at the Centre for Great Apes in Florida, the head of the sanctuary said. Jackson did not provide financial support for Bubbles and, despite his stated desire, never visited him there, said Patti Ragan, director of the Centre for Great Apes. “To this date, all donations for his care have come from the Centre for Great Ape’s supporters. We depend on donations in order to care for all our animals in need,” she said. An image of Bubbles on the centre’s website appeals to the public to make donations to care for him and other residents of the sanctuary, designed to provide a natural environment for apes who had been used as performers or pets. The website, which does not directly mention Bubbles’ famous former guardian, described the chimp as having a “broad, handsome face and a lot of charisma.” R a g a n estimated it cost US$16,000

(RM56,000) a year to care for each ape, who usually live to be at least 50 years old. Jackson rescued Bubbles from a Texas medical laboratory where he was bought by Bob Dunn, a Hollywood animal trainer. Jackson returned Bubbles to Dunn after the singer had children, who risk being injured by a large chimp. Dunn, when contacted, declined to comment, saying he was negotiating a deal to speak publicly about Bubbles. The Florida centre said Dunn handed to it Bubbles and all his other apes in 2005 when he exited the business.

Dunn was quoted as telling Britain’s News of the World tabloid that Jackson thought of Bubbles as “his first child” and regularly visited while Bubbles was in Dunn’s California preserve. While Bubbles remains high-profile, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) said it was hard to track down most of Jackson’s former pets. Lisa Wathne, Peta’s specialist in captive exotic animals, voiced particular concern about two of Jackson’s orangutans sent to a private owner in Connecticut and reptiles at a roadside zoo in Oklahoma. She said Jackson’s case showed why wild animals should not be kept as pets. “All too often even people who start with good intentions, as Michael Jackson certainly did, don’t have the ability to properly care for these animals,” she said. “And unfortunately in Michael Jackson’s case he did apparently run into financial problems that ultimately led to his animals being disbursed to places all over the world. We don’t know, frankly, where most of them ended up.” Peta in January 2006 complained to US authorities that animals were being mistreated in Neverland. The authorities inspected the estate’s menagerie but found no evidence of abuse or neglect. Jackson’s two tigers, Thriller and Sabu, were taken in at a sanctuary in California run by former actress Tippi Hedren. The Voices of the Wild Foundation, which runs an animal preserve in Arizona, adopted Jackson’s four giraffes along with reptiles and exotic birds. – AFP

Custody battle looks set for MJ’s children LOS ANGELES: A legal battle appears to be looming over Michael Jackson’s three young children, with a lawyer for the superstar’s mother saying she will seek custody of her grandchildren. Katherine Jackson has been looking after the three children – Prince Michael, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7 – since their father suddenly collapsed and died on Thursday. “She will seek custody of the children. She loves them dearly,” family attorney Londell McMillan told CNN on the sidelines of the Black Entertain-

ment Television (BET) awards at Los Angeles’s Shrine Auditorium. Jackson’s former wife of three years Debbie Rowe is the mother of the two eldest children, while the third was born in 2002 to a surrogate whose identity has never been made public. Although Rowe reportedly signed away her parental rights to Jackson, some family law experts believe she has a strong chance of gaining custody of the two children on grounds she is the sole surviving biological parent. McMillan however indicated Rowe would face a strong challenge from the

Jacksons in the event of any custody challenge. “(Michael’s) children are in great care with Mrs Jackson,” McMillan said. “They’re in a loving environment. She’s a great grandma. I couldn’t think of anyone better for these children than a grandma like Miss Katherine Jackson and the loving support of the Jackson family.” Rowe has kept a low profile since her divorce from Jackson and has not spoken publicly since his death. There have been conflicting reports on Rowe’s intentions, with one former associate

saying she was in shock over Jackson’s death but in time would certainly seek custody of their two children. The British tabloid, the News of the World, repeated allegations that the children were not biologically Jackson’s. It quoted Rowe as saying that she received artificial insemination from an anonymous donor. Family law attorney Fred Silberberg said that Rowe stood an excellent chance of securing custody of Prince Michael and Paris. “Generally speaking in California, biology trumps everything,” said Silberberg last week.

“Courts tend to favour the biological parents so in that regard she has a very strong case,” Silberberg said, drawing comparisons to O.J Simpson, who successfully saw off a custody challenge from the grandparents of ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson, who he was accused of murdering in 1994. Another Jackson confidante, new age guru Deepak Chopra, told CNN he was concerned the three siblings – the two children Jackson had with Rowe and their half-brother Michael – could be split up by a custody battle. – AFP