SUNGAI PETANI, Kedah – A 13-year-old boy has been arrested by the Malaysian police for allegedly attempting to rob an e-hailing driver in the northern state of Kedah on Nov 27.

Kuala Muda district police chief Zaidy Che Hassan said at about 6.20pm, the teen tried to stab the 65-year-old driver with a knife and attempted to snatch the cash from his shirt pocket.

The suspect had used an e-hailing app to summon a private hire car, he said.

“However, during the journey, the suspect then asked to borrow RM50 (S$14) from the victim to pay his house rent, said Mr Zaidy in a statement.

The driver replied that if the teen could not pay the fare, he would drop him off on the spot. But the suspect refused and wanted to be taken to his home to get the money for the fare.

Mr Zaidi said the boy then asked to be taken back to his pick-up location and that the driver did receive payment of RM18.

The teen then attempted to prolong the ride by directing the driver to travel through several alleys.

“The driver eventually dropped off the suspect and requested an additional payment of RM9. But while he was in the midst of returning change for RM20 given by the suspect, the suspect tried to stab him,” said Mr Zaidy.

The boy then attempted to snatch the money from the driver’s pocket, but the driver managed to grabbed hold of the knife by biting the teen’s hand.

The driver lodged a police report and the teen was tracked down and arrested at about 10pm.

A 25cm knife was recovered from the victim’s car.

“Investigations found that the teen suspect is the eldest of four siblings and did not come from a problematic background.

“The boy attacked the driver as he was angry after being scolded by the driver and was trying to claim back his money,” added Mr Zaidy.

A video recorded by the victim’s dashcam in the car has since gone viral on social media. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK