Fans all around the globe prepare to celebrate Michael Jackson's 10th anniversary

COLOMBO (News 1st) - Michael Jackson fans around the world are gearing up to mark the tenth anniversary of the death of the King of Pop. Jackson, a child star turned King of Pop, set the world alight with his infectious songs and music videos. But his musical genius was overshadowed at times by a bizarre lifestyle and sex scandals. Jackson, who died on June 25, 2009, was acquitted at a 2005 trial in California on charges of molesting a 13- year-old boy at his Neverland ranch in California. In 1994, he settled a sexual abuse lawsuit concerning another 13-year-old boy. His family says they remember Jackson as a generous person who gave millions to charities, loved to have fun and wanted to unite people through his music. Jackson died of cardiac arrest, age 50, on June 25, 2009, at his rented mansion in Los Angeles, as he was rehearsing for a series of London concerts aimed at reviving a career shattered by strange events as an adult and acquittal on charges of molestation. Dr Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's personal physician at the time of his 2009 death, was sentenced to four years for involuntary manslaughter by a Los Angeles court in 2011 over the singer's death. Almost 10 years after his sudden death, Jackson's legacy has been under fresh scrutiny since the release of a recent documentary about alleged child sex abuse that has been met with outrage by the singer's family and fans.

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