A man escaped the gallows after the High Court here today acquitted him of a charge of murdering the mother of a local Chinese radio station disc jockey (DJ), three years ago.

High Court judge Kamardin Hashim held that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Lim Kang Wee, 32.

The judge said the prosecution was merely relying on the notion of probability and failed to prove the accused's motive to commit the crime.

He also said evidence adduced by some of the witnesses were vague and weak. Justice Kamardin said the CCTV recording was inadmissible as evidence, as it did not fulfill the requirement under Section 90(A) of the Evidence Act 1950.

Lim, defended by counsel Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abiden, was charged on Dec 15, 2011 with murdering Lai Kam Lian, 62, at a house in Jalan Udang Kertas, Taman Segambut, Sentul here at 9.45 pm on Dec 1, 2011.

The prosecution represented by deputy public prosecutor Nordin Mohd Ismail, called 28 witnesses during the trial.