This is the dramatic moment a car thief hijacked a sedan with the owner's mother still inside the vehicle.

The male suspect commandeered the red Honda City left with the ignition on while the family were using the washroom at a petrol station in Kuantan in Pahang, Malaysia, on June 3.

The man sat in the driver's seat, only to find that the car owner's mum, 66, was still inside the car. She was seen on CCTV opening the door to flee as the carjacker sped away.

Assistant Commissioner Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu, District police chief, said: 'The victim and her husband had gone to the washroom while their daughter was refuelling the car. The daughter later parked the car near the toilet before her mother returned to the vehicle.

'Her daughter left the ignition switched on while she walked to the nearby toilet. Seconds later, she heard her mother screaming for help and saw someone driving the car away with her mother still inside.'

The pensioner was dropped off some 400 metres from the station unharmed.

Police said the carjacker had earlier arrived at the station on a stolen Honda EX-5 motorcycle.

The case was being investigated under Section 379A of the Penal Code for vehicle theft.