Police Trace Owner Of Car Driven By 11-Year-Old Child

SHAH ALAM, July 20 (Bernama) -- The police have traced the owner of a Proton Saga car that went viral on social media after it skidded, believed with an 11-year-old child at the wheel, at Jalan Telok Gong, Klang yesterday.

South Klang police chief ACP Ramli Kasa said the police had also traced the young driver and two other children who were passengers in the car when it skidded in the incident, which occurred at about 10 am.

He said the 11-year-old child and one of the passengers, aged seven years, are siblings and cardholders of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),  while the other child is their Malaysian cousin.

"Initial investigations found that the car was (earlier) driven by the mother of two siblings from the Bandar Sultan Suleiman area, North Klang Port, to her sister's house in Telok Gong, Klang. The mother had left the children for a moment to go to the toilet.

“When the woman left to go to the toilet, the 11-year-old child took the car keys and brought the younger sibling and a cousin to go to the shop," he said in a statement today.

Ramli said the child drove for two kilometres before losing control of the vehicle when approaching the shop area, causing it to skid into a drain on the side of the road.

He said no one was injured in the incident and only minor damage was caused to the front of the car.

Police have recorded statements from the parents of the child driver and is investigatuing the case under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, which is for reckless driving and Section 39(1) of the same law for driving without a licence (underage), as well as the Child Act 2001 to identify any elements of child neglect.

-- BERNAMA