Image copyright AP Image caption Jackson is in Brazil to celebrate his birthday

Joe Jackson, the father of late singer Michael Jackson, has suffered a stroke, according to a Brazilian hospital.

The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo said Jackson was admitted on Sunday afternoon and is being treated in the intensive care unit.

A statement from the hospital also said he was suffering from an irregular heartbeat.

Jackson is in Brazil to celebrate his 87th birthday.

According to local media, he was absent from his own party because he was already in the hospital.

Jackson 5 success

Photos from his official website show him dining in Sao Paulo restaurants.

Jackson managed his sons' musical group in the early 1960s, first working with his three eldest sons, Jackie, Tito and Jermaine and then younger sons Marlon and Michael, forming the Jackson 5.

Although they would go on to achieve huge commercial success, it was reported that he was often abusive towards his family.

In a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson said that during his childhood, he would sometimes get sick or vomit with nerves upon seeing his father.

In a 2003 interview with Louis Theroux, Jackson admitted whipping his pop singer son as a child.

"I whipped him with a switch and a belt. I never beat him. You beat someone with a stick."

Michael, who went on to become a phenomenally successful pop star, died from an overdose of sedatives on 25 June, 2009 at the age of 50.