A distressing incident took place at Seremban, Negeri Sembilan on Tuesday (3 September), after a 10-year-old boy drove his parents' Toyota Corolla and ended up crashing into a van that was parked on the side of the road.
The van then ended up crashing into a Perodua Kancil that was also parked by the roadside at Jalan Arowana 2 in Taman Arowana Impian.
A statement by the Seremban District Police Chief ACP Mohamad Hatta Bin Che Din confirmed the road accident took place at around 9.30 pm on 3 September, further revealing that the boy was driving with his neighbour, a 9-year-old boy, as the passenger.
Thankfully, both boys were unharmed, though the road accident did leave considerable damage to the vehicles involved, particularly the Toyota Corolla they were driving.
In the statement, ACP Mohamad Hatta urged everyone to adhere to the traffic laws and for parents and guardians to keep an eye on children under their care so that unwanted incidents such as this could be avoided.
Moreover, the Seremban District Police Chief stressed that stern action can be taken against parents or guardians for any traffic offences made by the children under their care.
So, what legal actions can be taken against the parent or guardians of both underage children in this instance? Will the children themselves face any legal action?
Here are the laws and conventions that are relevant to the case you should know about:
The 10-year-old boy can face criminal liability if he has attained sufficient maturity of understanding
In Malaysia, Section 82 of the Penal Code below prescribes that nothing is an offence if it is done by a child under the age of 10.
However, based on the Royal Malaysia Police's (PDRM) statement, the child driver is already 10 years of age, hence Section 83 of the Penal Code below is applicable instead.
In other words, the above provision establishes that children between 10 and 12 years of age may only face criminal liability if they have attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of their conduct.
Hence, the 10-year-old can only be charged if the prosecution can prove that he has attained the aforementioned maturity of understanding.
In addition, if the boy was to be charged, he could only be tried at the Court for Children as established under the Child Act 2001. Under the Child Act, a ‘child’ is defined as a person below the age of 18 and in criminal proceedings, a person who has attained the age of criminal responsibility as prescribed by the aforementioned Section 82 of the Penal Code.
However, instead of being sent to jail, an underage individual who committed non-serious offences as per Section 52A of the Penal Code below shall be ordered to be sent to an approved school instead.
The provision establishes ‘non-serious offences’ as offences punishable with only imprisonment of up to 10 years.
Section 39 of the Road Transport Act 1987 for underage driving
With that in mind, the offence committed by the 10-year-old boy here is governed under Section 39 of the Road Transport Act below for underage driving:
Section 39(2) above clearly asserts that it is an offence for someone under the age of 17 to drive a motor vehicle and accordingly, Section 39(5) prescribes offenders to face a fine of up to RM2,000 or up to 6 months in jail or both if convicted. Furthermore, Section 39(4) also will disqualify the boy from obtaining a motor vehicle driving licence, though this is rather academic as he must wait 7 years to be eligible to get 1 in the first place.
With that established, should the boy be charged and convicted in the Court for Children, he may be sent to an approved school as punishment rather than to jail.
Furthermore, his parents or guardians may also be charged under Section 39(5) for permitting the child to drive a motor vehicle in contravention of the provision. If convicted, the parents or guardians may face up to RM2,000 fine or up to 6 months imprisonment or both.
Section 31 of the Child Act 2001 for child neglect
Besides that, the parents or guardians of both the 10-year-old driver and the 9-year-old passenger can be charged under Section 31 of the Child Act 2001 for ill, treatment, neglect, abandonment or exposure of children to physical harm below:
Should the parents or guardians be convicted under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, they may face up to RM50,000 fine, or up to 20 years in jail or both.
It doesn't end there, as the parents or guardians may also be ordered by the Court to execute a good behaviour bond with sureties for a period and conditions that the Court sees fit and to perform community service.
For the latter, the community service shall be between 36 and 246 hours in aggregate and be performed within 6 months of the date of order and shall be subject to any other conditions by the Court. Failure to perform the community service may see those convicted liable to a fine of up to RM10,000.
This is governed under Sections 31(2) and 31(3) of the Act below:
Besides that, a charge under Section 33 of the Child Act 2001 for leaving a child without reasonable supervision may also be relevant below:
If convicted, the parents or guardians may face a fine of up to RM20,000, up to 5 years in jail or both. Like Section 31, the Court may also order those convicted to undergo community service between 36 and 246 hours in aggregate, to be performed within 6 months from the date of order and be subjected to conditions specified by the Court. Failure to comply with the order can result in a fine of up to RM10,000 as well if convicted.
Now, it's up to PDRM to investigate the incident and for the Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) to decide whether to pursue any actions as per the above provisions against the parents or guardians, or even the 10-year-old boy.
In the meantime, let's hope that the incident can be a wake-up call to all parents and guardians out there to keep an eye on children under their care.
So, what do you guys think of the incident? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
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