IPOH, Feb 19 — Former Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) vice-chancellor, Prof Datuk Zakaria Kasa, 67, who was acquitted and discharged of abusing his power by the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya on Thursday, passed away yesterday due to heart disease.

His third son, Mohd Fauzi, 34, said that his late father breathed his last surrounded by family members at Slim River Hospital around 12.30pm.

"My father had been battling heart disease for several years. After the court case on Thursday, he returned to Tanjung Malim (Muallim), but on Friday, he fell unconscious and was admitted to the hospital,” he said when contacted by Bernama yesterday.

He added that his father’s remains were taken to UPSI’s Al-Mursyidin Mosque for final funeral rites and will be brought back to his hometown in Kodiang Lama, Kedah, for burial tonight.

The late professor, who served at UPSI from 2007 to 2018, is survived by his wife and six children.

On Thursday, the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged Zakaria of abusing his power by including his son’s name in a list of job interviewees at the university ten years ago. — Bernama