A video of a five-year-old local boy left alone on the street while his parents dined at a nearby restaurant has gone viral, sparking intense reactions from viewers.

In the video, a woman recounts her distress after encountering the young boy.

According to her, the boy’s mother had refused to let him join them at the restaurant, leaving him sitting outside by himself.

ALSO READ: Kind Malay man saves dogs abandoned in gunny sacks

“Being poor is one thing, but don’t be stupid!” the woman exclaims in the video, her frustration evident.

She questioned why the parents couldn’t have taken turns eating so that at least one of them could stay with the child.

“The boy is only five-years-old, not even in school. When I asked how he got there, he said they came by car. They even have a car!” she added.

Moved by the boy’s plight, the woman gave him water and biscuits, noting his desperate thirst as he eagerly drank from the bottle she provided.

“He was so thirsty. He sucked the bottle so hard it dented,” she observed, highlighting the neglect he had endured.

In her video, she also mentioned asking the boy about any siblings he might have.

The woman wrote angrily, “Why have so many children if you cannot take care of them?”

The video quickly gained traction online, with viewers expressing outrage over the parents’ actions.

Commenters were vocal in their criticism, condemning the neglectful behaviour.

One user called TukangKomen wrote, “Parents like this are the loudest when people talk about choosing not to have children or being childfree.”

Another user called _hilmi.i added, “Change your mindset before you say that children are a blessing. Think of them as a responsibility first. Children are innocent.”

Nursya Qiena2 shared a similar experience, “I once saw something similar at around 9 PM near a food stall. A little child came to our table asking, ‘Do you want to buy corn?’ My heart broke when I asked where his father was, and he said he was in the car playing on his phone.”