KUANTAN: A trader faced anxious moments after an unemployed man drove away her multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) with her son still inside in Felda Hilir Satu here.

       Kuantan police chief ACP Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu, however, said that the nine-year-old boy was dropped off on Jalan Kuantan-Maran and was picked up by his mother, who borrowed her friend's car.

       The incident occurred at 6.30pm on Thursday (June 9), when the boy, who is the second of three siblings, followed his 34-year-old mother to her friend's house in the Felda settlement and was left in the car for several minutes with the engine running.

       "The victim's mother said that her friend's neighbour alerted her that a man had driven her MPV away, and they began to chase the suspect.

       "The suspect dropped the child a few kilometres from the scene and fled in the vehicle," he said on Friday (June 10).

       Wan Mohd Zahari said that the 35-year-old suspect, who is unemployed, was detained by a patrol car team from Maran district police headquarters.

       A preliminary investigation found that the suspect, who had a record for a drug-related offence, had driven the car because he wanted to return to his hometown in Mentakab, Temerloh. – Bernama