Sabah cops: For the community's sake, don't harbour Kg Pondo fugitives who tested positive for Covid-19

KOTA KINABALU: Anyone harbouring suspected Covid-19-positive fugitives from Kg Pondo should turn them in to the authorities immediately or face legal action.

Kota Kinabalu OCPD Asst Comm Zaidi Abdullah said he believes the remaining 66 escapees, all of whom are Bajau Laut (Palau), are still hiding in the various water villages in the Pulau Gaya area.

“Based on our investigation and search, we found that many did not slip out to land and therefore, we believe they are taking refuge with friends and family in nearby villages on Pulau Gaya,” he told a press conference here on Wednesday (July 7).

He urged the public not to panic as not many of the villagers managed to escape to the mainland.

There are over a dozen villages on Pulau Gaya.

ACP Zaidi said 69 people were wanted by the Health Department after they tested positive for Covid-19 for failing to turn up at the designated gathering area to be taken to a quarantine and treatment centre on Tuesday (July 6).

“Many of them were not contactable as they are undocumented and do not have a phone number or official name,” he said.

He said police and health officials have all the photographs and addresses given during earlier swab tests.

ACP Zaidi said out of the 69, a total of 66 have yet to come forward and surrender themselves to the authorities.

“We do not rule out the possibility that some of them might not even know that their results are positive, so now we are going house to house in all the villages to find them,” he said.

He said police were also getting help from island community leaders and budget hotel operators in the city to find if any of these suspects are hiding there.

Earlier, Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Hazani Ghazali said 10 people have been rearrested but a further check found that most of them were on an earlier list of people wanted by the health authorities.

ACP Zaidi assured the escapees that they would not be locked up for being undocumented, as the main aim was to quarantine them so they could undergo treatment for Covid-19.

“This is for safety's sake, not only for themselves but the whole community,” he said.

He added that those on the mainland can just go to the nearest police station in the city instead of returning to Pulau Gaya, so as to reduce contact with the public.

Kg Pondo is among four villages within the Pulau Gaya locality which will be under the enhanced MCO from Thursday (July 8).

The other three villages are Kg Kasuapan, Kg Lok Urai and Kg Pulau Gaya.

These localities had a total of 215 Covid-19 cases as of Tuesday.