Father charged after son, 9, drives Ferrari in India

Charges have been filed against a man who allowed his 9-year-old son to drive his Ferrari, police in the southern Indian state of Kerala said Monday. 

Mohammed Nisham was charged with endangering the life of a child and allowing a minor to drive, said Inspector M.V. Verghese.  

Nisham's wife filmed the boy driving the sports car on his ninth birthday two weeks ago, with his 7-year-old brother in the passenger seat. The video went viral on YouTube and caused outrage across India. 

'I am proud of him. He's been driving since he was 5.' —Amal Nisham

India's economic boom has created a class of super-rich, whose excesses are frequently in the news.  

Verghese said the boy's father, who has a thriving tobacco and real estate business, owns a stable of 18 cars worth an estimated $4 million.  

Nisham has applied for bail and is expected to turn himself in at the police station close to his home near the port city of Kochi, Verghese said.   

He said police would likely impound the Ferrari while the case is ongoing. 

The boy's parents are unabashed. "I am proud of him. He's been driving since he was 5," said his mother, Amal Nisham.   

She said the boy has also driven the family's Lamborghini and Bentley and other cars. 

"It was his ninth birthday, and since he was insisting for months, we allowed him to drive the Ferrari. He is a cautious and confident driver," she told television channel NDTV. 

"It's not easy for a child to achieve such a feat at this young age," she said.