Michael Jackson's doctor stopped administering CPR as the singer lay dying so he could hide drug vials, according to a new witness account.

Jackson's logistics director Alberto Alvarez made the allegation in a witness report, which has been obtained by the Associated Press.

Alvarez was at the late singer's Los Angeles home last June as Dr Conrad Murray battled to save him.

According to his account, when Alvarez arrived in Jackson's room he saw the star lying in his bed, with his eyes open and no sign of life.

He told officers that Dr Murray stopped CPR in order to collect vials, which he asked Alvarez to place in a bag. He said he did not know what substances were inside or what happened to the bag.

Two days after Jackson's death, Dr Murray directed police to a closet in Jackson's bedroom where they discovered a bag containing propofol and other sedatives.

An autopsy later ruled the King of Pop's death as homicide "due to lethal levels of propofol".

Alvarez's statement, which appears to shed new light on Jackson's final hours, has been described as “inconsistent” by Dr Murray's lawyer.

Ed Chernoff said: "This statement was given more than two months after Michael Jackson's death and is inconsistent with a statement he (Alvarez) gave the police the day after Mr Jackson was taken to the hospital".

"Further, his statement does not match up with much of the physical evidence found at the scene."

Dr Murray pleaded not guilty in February to a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the singer’s death.

He is due to appear in court again in Los Angeles on April 5.

(by Jason Gregory)