Former Kedah Road Transport Department (RTD) director Zulkifli Othman gave a sigh of relief when the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur today acquitted and discharged him of a charge of receiving a RM1,000 bribe from a driving school owner five years ago.

Judge Abu Bakar Katar handed down the decision after finding that the defence had succeeded in raising doubts against the prosecution’s case.

Zulkifli, 51, from Nilai, Negri Sembilan, was charged with receiving the bribe from the driving school owner at Kelab De Macau, Lower Ground Floor, Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur about 1.30am on Aug 4, 2007.

He was represented by lawyers CV Prabakaran and Gurucharan Singh Sohan, while the prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Nor Azah Kasran from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

On March 22, High Court Judge Ghazali Cha ordered Zulkifli to enter his defence on the charge after finding that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.

On April 11 last year, the Sessions Court had acquitted and discharged Zulkifli on four counts of accepting bribes worth RM18,957.555 from a driving school owner.

- Bernama