MALAYSIAN highways see all manner of things, but a toddler on a three-wheel scooter weaving through traffic is not something most motorists bargain for.
A video of the heart-stopping incident has been making the rounds on social media, racking up hundreds of thousands of views and leaving viewers equal parts alarmed and grateful.
Did a young boy really ride his scooter onto a busy highway in Kota Kinabalu?
Verdict:
TRUE
A young boy was filmed riding a three-wheel scooter in the middle of the 1Sulaman main road in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, in a video that has gone viral on social media.
The 30-second clip, first posted on Instagram by user makcikrina on Wednesday (March 19), shows the boy dressed in a blue t-shirt and short pants, happily scooting along the highway with vehicles driving past him during broad daylight.
The video has since garnered over 300,000 views and more than 4,500 likes.
Other motorists and motorcyclists on the road began slowing down around the boy, while a Foodpanda delivery rider took the initiative to stop and escort the child safely to the side of the road.
Instagram user a_little_chilipadi noted that the delivery rider had gone above and beyond his duties.
"The Foodpanda rider is already swamped, having to collect orders, deliver food and now having to look after someone else's child as well," she wrote.
Another Instagram user, faithheng, pointed out that other road users had also slowed down to ensure the boy was not harmed.
It is unknown how the boy ended up on the highway or who his parents or guardians are, and it also remained unclear whether a car seen following the boy with its indicator lights on belonged to a family member.
The video was cut off before showing how the situation was fully resolved, and no further updates on the boy's condition or whereabouts have emerged.
A senior Kota Kinabalu police officer confirmed that authorities were aware of the viral video but had yet to receive any official reports at the time.
Social media users were largely split between blaming the parents for being irresponsible and raising the possibility that the boy may be autistic, noting that autistic children are known to sometimes act unpredictably and have a tendency to wander away from home.
