AirAsia Berhad said that it is aware of and is looking into a recent complaint by a Pakistani national that he allegedly found a house lizard in a packet of nasi lemak served on board one of its flights.

"We regret the guest did not hand over the item immediately which would have enabled us to quickly establish the cause or the source of the alleged contamination.

"We nevertheless are treating the matter seriously and have started an investigation into this complaint to ascertain the facts and to rule out any foul play," AirAsia said in statement today, responding to Malaysiakini's article on the matter earlier this morning.

The 27-year-old Pakistani, Waseem Abbas, claimed to have discovered a cooked lizard in a nasi lemak meal (pix)served on board an AirAsia Kuala Lumpur-to-Kuching flight on March 27.

While enjoying his meal, Waseem alleged that he tasted something peculiar as he bit down on what he thought was a peculiarly shaped and extra crunchy piece of anchovy, which, upon closer examination, revealed to be what he thought is a house lizard.

AirAsia said that it was in communication with Waseem to establish the facts surrounding the matter.

On allegation by Waseem that he had suffered from food poisoning afterward, AirAsia said that it would help Waseem with his medical expenses and was awaiting his medical reports and bills.

AirAsia also stressed that its caterer is certified ISO 22000:2005 by SGS United Kingdom; halal by Department of Islamic Development (Jakim); MeSTI by the Health Ministry and Gred A, Premis Bersih by the Kuala Selangor district counscil.

"AirAsia conducts regular surveillance and quality audits of its suppliers. Onboard fumigation and disinfection are conducted on a regular basis.

“While this is an isolated event, we take this report seriously and have increased our supervision accordingly," the airline said.