diff --git a/tests/p_coreutils/sleeptimeout.sh b/tests/p_coreutils/sleeptimeout.sh
index b63688a..134754c 100755
--- a/tests/p_coreutils/sleeptimeout.sh
+++ b/tests/p_coreutils/sleeptimeout.sh
@@ -3,6 +3,14 @@
 
 t_Log "$0 checking timeout and sleep"
 
-timeout 1 sleep 2
-test $? -eq 124 && timeout 2 sleep 1
-t_CheckExitStatus $?
+if [ $centos_ver = 5 ]
+  then
+  t_Log "This is a C5 system. no 'timeout' available. Skipping." 
+  ret_val=0
+else
+  timeout 1 sleep 2
+  test $? -eq 124 && timeout 2 sleep 1
+  ret_val=$?
+fi
+
+t_CheckExitStatus $ret_val