LANGKAWI: Is the six-year-old boy who became a nationwide sensation after driving his parents' car for 2.5km before crashing the vehicle on Tuesday capable of driving?
The answer is affirmative, according to Langkawi police chief Assistant Commissioner Shariman Ashari, based on investigations.
"Our investigations concluded that the boy understands the car's accelerator and gear functions.
"When we checked the dashcam recording, it showed that the driving was a bit erratic, sometimes (the car) swerving into the opposite lane, sometimes to the left and right.
"The boy knows how to start the engine and can do so when we asked him to ignite the engine," he said in a statement today, confirming that police had interviewed the boy on Wednesday at the Langkawi traffic police station when his parents came forward to have their statement recorded.
Shariman said the minor knew how to release the car's parking handbrake.
"The boy is even capable of reversing the car, and he has indeed reversed the vehicle (during the incident).
"He wanted to drive to a shop located about 5km away from his house before he crashed it halfway into the trip," he said.
Shariman also brushed off the possible involvement of mystical elements as claimed on social media.
In the late Tuesday evening incident, it was reported that the boy sneaked out from his home in Kampung Padang Mengkuang with his three-year-old brother.
Their father was asleep while their mother was in the bathroom when the boys left the house in a Toyota Vios.
The boy had driven the car for about 2.5km before he lost control of the vehicle, crashing into a lamp post in Jalan Bukit Tangga, near Kampung Titi Chanwang.