By Gladys Tay

JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA: A nine-year-old schoolboy was hit by his schoolbus and dragged for 20m, tearing his skin off and leaving his bones exposed.

After eight days at the Hospital Sultanah Aminah intensive care unit, the SJK (C) Pei Hwa pupil was transferred to a private hospital in Singapore for further treatment yesterday.

On July 26 at about 6.50pm, Kong Woon Chun and his seven-year-old brother Kong Woon Kang had just hopped off the schoolbus and were heading towards their house across the street when the tragedy happened.

According to Nusajaya OCPD Supt Abd Aziz Ahmad, the driver saw the younger brother cross the road from his rear mirror before moving.

"He (the driver) did not see the older boy crossing in front of his vehicle," he said.

Supt Abd Aziz said the boy's parents had lodged a police report on July 27.

Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong who visited the boy at Hospital Sultanah Aminah yesterday said schoolbus drivers should make sure their passengers had safely reached their destination before driving off.

Dr Wee said he had had discussions with Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran recently about making all schoolbuses have a conductor to ensure passengers were taken care off during their entire journey, including when they board on or get off the bus.

"However, the proposal was not accepted by the schoolbus operators as it would increase their operation costs," he said.

He said the other option was that the CVLB conduct programmes to inform the drivers of their responsibilities while ferrying schoolchildren.

Meanwhile, SJK (C) Pei Hwa Teachers and Parents Association chairman Low Teh Hian said they would donate RM60,000 for Woon Chun's treatment.

"The money was actually meant for a student who died of cancer before it was utilised," he said.

Woon Chun's father, Kong Hoi Teng, 41, was too distraught to give any comments when approached at the hospital.