13-yr old boy kills 6 with car given to him by Indon rock star father

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A 13-YEAR-OLD boy who caused the deaths of six people and injured nine others after losing control of a car given to him as a birthday present has sparked outrage and a debate on the excesses of the rich and famous as well as the problem of underage drivers.

Abdul Qodir Jaelani, the son of popular rock musician Ahmad Dhani, 41, was driving the black Mitsubishi Lancer home after dropping off his girlfriend early on Sunday morning when he lost control of the vehicle, mounted the divider of a toll road and smashed into an oncoming Daihatsu Gran Max minibus and a Toyota Avanza multi-purpose vehicle.

He was named a suspect for reckless driving by police yesterday, an offence that carries up to six years in jail.

Jakarta police spokesman Rikwanto said Abdul Qodir, popularly known as Dul, was behind the wheel and that police will record statements from the boy's parents, who are divorced, on how he learnt to drive. Traffic police said a urine test on Dul found no trace of alcohol or drugs.

"This is pure negligence on the part of parents who are unable to control their children, to the point where it causes loss to others," Mr Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection, told reporters yesterday.

Mr Neta S. Pane of Indonesia Police Watch said in a statement: "Those who are financially well-off should be able to watch their children so that they don't cause the deaths of other people."

But Senior Commissioner Rikwanto said the law was such that responsibility for the accident could not be passed on to the parents.

Still, the spike in underage motorcyclists and drivers is worrying police, and Mr Rikwanto called on schools to ban students from riding or driving unless they have turned 17, the legal age to operate motor vehicles. He lamented how some parents were glad that their underage children drove to school so they need not be ferried.

Police statistics show there were 104 accidents involving underage drivers in Jakarta last year, up from 40 in 2011.

Dul, once part of a band with two older brothers, had received the car on Aug 23, when he celebrated his birthday.

His father said he normally had a driver but was driving himself last Saturday night. Dul is being treated for his injuries in hospital.

Mr Ahmad Dhani's younger brother, Mr Jerry Marmen, also apologised to the families of victims and said the singer would visit them personally and cover the cost of their medical expenses.

But criminologist Adrianus Meliala warned that police may try to cast blame elsewhere, noting that investigators were looking at how the Gran Max had been modified to carry more people.

"The jetset should not feel that their money, influence and name can get them out of trouble with the law," he told reporters.


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