10-Year-Old Takes Dad's Maserati for a Ride

(AFP) - Hong Kong police said Wednesday that they briefly detained a 10-year-old American boy who took his father's Maserati GranTurismo coupe out for a spin.

The boy grabbed the keys from an unlocked drawer in the family's apartment near central Hong Kong, revved the engine and drove off in the two-door car Monday, the South China Morning Post reported.

He hit a vehicle in the parking lot but continued driving the car -- for which his businessman father paid HK$1.6 million ($206,000) in 2009 -- for another 330 yards (300 meters) down a busy road before he stopped and a passerby called the police.

"Police arrested the 10 year old for driving without a license and taking a conveyance without authority under the theft ordinance," a police spokeswoman said, adding that the boy was released on police bail.

The boy is required to report back to the police station later this month. Police said there was no indication he was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the newspaper reported.

The offense carries a maximum punishment of seven years' imprisonment and a fine, but a police source suggested that he was unlikely to be charged because of his age.

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