Police and health personnel had been looking for the man who was believed to have run away while in the process of being taken for treatment at Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan.

Kinabatangan district police chief Supt Dzulbaharin Ismail said the 69-year-old man was not at home and the house was locked up when a team from the Tongod health clinic called at noon yesterday.

He said the man had been seen packing up earlier when the health team passed in front of his house to visit other Covid-19 patients in the area at around 11am and it was assumed that he was preparing to be taken to hospital.

“The Tongod health team then went back to the clinic to wait for the suspect to turn up.

“However, until the police report was lodged, his whereabouts were still not known. It is feared that he would be infecting other people if he continues to run away,” he said in a statement.

He was found hiding in a garden near his house at 6.50pm today.