Former RTD deputy D-G to know fate on Oct 5
PUTRAJAYA: A former senior Road Transport Department (RTD) official, who was charged with driving in an emergency lane, will know whether he will be freed or told to enter his defence next month.
Magistrate Muhammad Zaki Abd Kudos set Oct 5 to decide after hearing submissions at the end of the prosecution’s case in the trial over the conduct of the then RTD deputy director-general (planning and operations) Datuk Yusoff Ayob. The court was told that Yusoff had acted beyond his powers when he was monitoring the congestion at Lingkaran Putrajaya, where the alleged offence was committed last year.
Deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Izzat Fauzan submitted that there was no provision under the Road Transport Act stating that Yusoff (as an RTD deputy director-general) could use the emergency lane to carry out enforcement action.
“Rule 53(1) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959 prohibits vehicles to be driven, parked or pushed in the emergency lane.”
However, he said under Rule 9, ambulance, police, customs and prisons vehicles with urgent duty, by means of distinctive siren, bell or multi-toned horn, were an exception.
Counsel Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu, who represented Yusoff, said based on the testimony of the fifth prosecution witness, a former RTD investigating officer, his client was driving in the emergency lane to monitor what had caused a traffic congestion.