KINABATANGAN – The health authorities and police here are on a manhunt for a Covid-19 patient who eluded them after discovering he was infected.
The 69-year-old man is believed to have gone into hiding when health authorities were about to pick him up from his home in Kg Kuala Tongod here today.
District police chief Dzulbaharin Ismail said the patient was supposed to be brought by a team of health workers from the Tongod health clinic to Sandakan Hospital yesterday.
However, the senior citizen was instead seen by neighbours packing his belongings outside his home before making his getaway, he said.
“When the health workers returned to the house, they found the premises locked and no one inside.
“The team later on returned to the clinic and waited for the patient but he never turned up. He still cannot be found,” he said.
Dzulbaharin said the whereabouts of the suspect remains unknown until today and there are concerns that he might infect other people while on the run.
The case is now being investigated under Section 269 of the Penal Code and Section 22(b) of the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342) for refusing to adhere to the law.
Authorities’ efforts to locate the suspect are ongoing and the case will be handed over to the deputy public prosecutor for further action.
Police are also asking for the public’s help in finding the man by contacting the Kinabatangan control centre at 089-561-890. – The Vibes, June 14, 2021
