MIRI, Feb 16 — The Ministry of Transport is investigating a report of a wheelchair-bound senior citizen suffering injuries while boarding a flight from Miri to Kota Kinabalu due to inadequate services for passengers with special needs.

In a statement today, Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said he saw a newspaper report on the incident this morning.

"I have requested my ministry to communicate with AirAsia and to get a report on the incident,” he said.

Lee said his ministry will not condone any wrongdoing and the investigation should be allowed to take its course.

"Appropriate action should be taken to ensure that such incidents will not recur in future,” he stressed.

He added the newspaper report has been sent to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for further investigation.

According to the See Hua Daily News report, the 69-year-old woman suffered bruises to her forearm after being poorly handled by staff while boarding the flight in her wheelchair.

The diabetic, who has to undergo dialysis, was on the way to Sabah to be with her son, who has been transferred there.

The son said he had requested for a special cabin wheelchair to move his mother down the narrow aircraft aisle to her seat, but the request was not met at Miri Airport.

According to the report, the woman’s family will also lodge a complaint with Mavcom. — Borneo Post