'Jackson's minders threatened doctor into giving him prescription drugs'

Washington, July 14(ANI): A doctor has revealed that Michael Jackson's bodyguards had threatened him when he refused to give the singer prescription drugs at Las Vegas in 2003.

The unnamed physician claims to have visited the icon in his hotel suite after he was told that Jackson was suffering from cough and sore throat.

"The whole thing was staged. It was all a lie. They just wanted drugs. They wanted me to call in all these pills under someone else's name," Contactmusic quoted him as telling Las Vegas Review Journal newspaper.

He described: "His minder started giving me a rough time. He was trying to intimidate me. I said, 'I can't do that,' and he replied, 'What do you mean, they always do that.' "

The doctor who spoke in condition of anonymity said that he first thought the episode to be a prank on him.

He said: "The handler came up to me and put a finger in my chest and said, 'You do that.'

"I was waiting for someone to jump out of bushes and say 'You've been punked!' I felt like I was on 'Candid Camera.' "

Now, the doctor believes that the King of Pop was suffering from autism, which is a brain development disorder.

He said that the singer displayed "classic signs of autism", that include poor social interaction and communication, abnormal intensity or focus, severe insomnia and unusual eating habits. (ANI)