Boy, 10, takes parents’ car for joyride with even younger friend in Malaysia, causes accident
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The boy lost control of the Toyota Corolla car he was driving while negotiating a bend, and crashed into a van.
PHOTO: SEREMBAN POLICE
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A 10-year-old boy took his parents’ car for a joyride with his nine-year-old friend in Malaysia, and ended up causing an accident involving two other vehicles.
The incident happened at 9.30pm on Sept 3 in a Seremban residential neighbourhood, in the state of Negeri Sembilan, 70km from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Seremban police said the boy was driving a Toyota Corolla car with his friend, who is his neighbour, when he lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a bend.
The car hit a parked van on the road shoulder, said Seremban police chief Mohamad Hatta Che Din.
“This caused the van to lunge forward and hit a Perodua Kancil car that was parked in front,” he said in a statement.
Luckily for the children, they were not hurt, Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Hatta added.
The boy is being investigated for underage and negligent driving under two road laws while his parents, who are in their 40s, are under probe for negligence under the Child Act.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the parents were not home when the boy took the car out for a drive, AC Mohamad Hatta said on Sept 5.
The mother had taken her husband to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. A national news agency report said the man had a heart condition.
The parents were negligent in leaving the car keys at home, AC Mohamad Hatta told The Star.
He also said the police had taken a statement from the boy’s mother on Sept 4 and will record a statement from the father soon.
He also advised parents to monitor the actions of their children, warning that strict action can be taken against parents or guardians if the perpetrator is underage.
