IPOH, March 17 — A five-year-old boy drowned after he was trapped in a car that skidded into a canal at Kilometer 32 Jalan Bota Kiri-Ulu Dedap near Kampung Gajah.

Perak Tengah district police chief, Supt Barudin Wariso said in the 5.30pm incident, the victim, Muhamad Harith Sulayman Mohd Hanis drowned while his 30-year-old mother and his four-year-old sister survived unscathed.

"Our investigations showed that accident was believed to have happened when his mother, who was driving a Honda City, lost control of the vehicle after going over a pool of water before skidding to the right of the road and plunged into the canal,” he said in a statement tonight.

The family was on the way to Ulu Dedap from Malim Nawar.

Barudin said Muhamad Harith Sulayman’s body was taken to Changkat Melintang Hospital for a post-mortem.

Meanwhile, a Perak Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said they managed to find the victim’s body at 8.12pm.

"When we arrived at the location, we found that the car was submerged under 3.65-meter of water. The mother and sister had already been rescued by members of the public,” he added. — Bernama