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WATCH: Oh boy! Child apologises after caught driving father’s car
'Ali' admitted to 'stealing' his dad's SUV to visit a friend.
An eight-year-old child driving an SUV. Photos: Video screenshots/Twitter/@Abramjee
A six-year-old boy has apologised for “stealing” his father’s car and driving it to visit his friend in Roshnee, near Vereeniging.
In a video, which was widely circulated on social media platforms, the child, initially reported to be eight years old, known as Ali, can be seen behind the wheel of an upmarket SUV while speaking to some adults gathered on the pavement.
Child driving
One of the bystanders remarked, “Hy’s net to oulik” (he’s just too cute), while an elderly man said it was “ridiculous”, while asking him how old he was and where his father was.
“I am going to your father, come I follow you because this is ridiculous, you can hardly see over the steering wheel,” said the man.
ALSO READ: WATCH: 8-year-old child driving an SUV – funny or plain negligence?
Apology
In a video sent to The Citizen, Ali has apologised for his actions, after Gauteng traffic police said they were investigating the circumstances behind the viral video.
“As-Salaam-u-Alaikum, my name is Ali. Sorry for what I did there. My mother was cooking and my father was in the bathroom, I took the key and I run away to visit Moe, my friend.”
Guns
In other photos also circulating on social media, it shows the little boy with what looks like a real hand gun in his hand.
Ali has since clarified that it was a toy gun.
“This is my toy gun, and I play with it every time, and I have 10 more like these guns. I am very sorry.”
Underage driving ‘not funny’
While many have found the video and even the idea of a child driving funny, there are serious consequence for his actions.
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) spokesperson Xolani Fihla told The Citizen the parent of any child driving on a public road will be prosecuted.
“Children between 8 and 14 years are presumed to not commit offences knowingly, and a court would normally only prosecute the parent,” he said.
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