PUTRAJAYA: A former Road Transport Department (JPJ) deputy director-general has been slapped with the maximum fine of RM2,000 for illegally using the emergency lane during a traffic jam.

Magistrate Muhammad Zaki Abd Kudos found Datuk Yusoff Ayob guilty of the offence, after considering the testimony and submissions heard in court throughout the trial.

He handed down a RM2,000 fine, in default four months prison.

Yusoff, 58, was charged on July 18 with driving a vehicle with the plate number BLY 68 on the emergency lane in Lingkaran Putrajaya here at 6.27pm on Oct 7 last year.

The offence under Rule 53(1) of the Road Traffic Rules 1959 carries a fine of not more than RM2,000 or up to six months' jail.

In mitigation, his lawyer Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu asked for an adequate sentence.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Izzat Fauzan urged the court for an exemplary sentence, with a fine and prison time.

He said that Yusoff needed to be held to a higher standard as he was a high-ranking civil servant within the JPJ.

"He has a duty to uphold the law, yet he himself broke it," said Muhammad Izzat.

Yusoff was transferred to the Public Service Department on July 21.