Malaysian man walks 120 km to avoid infecting people; adopts dog along the journey home

The story of a Malaysian man who walked 120 km over three days from Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia to get to his hometown of Kota Marudu with a dog as his companion is getting much attention from netizens. The 34-year-old man identified as Alixson Mangundok had just returned from Japan where he worked on March 25 and fearing that he might carry the COVID-19 virus, chose not to take any public transport or get his relatives to pick him up.

“After reaching the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, I was screened and although the health officials said I was fine and did not show any symptoms of the virus, I was still asked to go to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a more thorough screening,” Malaysia's daily The Star quoted him as saying. 

'I decided to walk all the way'

According to the report, he was told by the doctor that after giving his samples at the hospital, he can undergo self-quarantine at home and he was not required to check into the state-provided quarantine centres while waiting for his COVID-19 test results.

Earlier, Mangundok’s relatives had helped him bring back two of his larger pieces of luggage and left him with his hand-carried backpack as he thought he would be asked to check into the state-provided quarantine centres for two weeks. “But then I was told I can undergo self-quarantine at home so, to avoid any risk to anyone, I decided to walk all the way to Kota Marudu because I am used to walking for kilometres and days from my time hunting and farming,” he said.

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'...that is why I decided to adopt Hachiko'

A dog started following him as soon as he began his journey. He allowed the dog, which he eventually named Hachiko (after the Japanese Akita dog known for its loyalty) to tag along. “I thought it would leave me halfway through but it stayed with me the whole way, that is why I decided to adopt Hachiko,” Mangundok said. Mangundok walked for three days and then instead of meeting his family went to a hut in his farm stating that it will be safer for everyone.

He went for his second COVID-19 screening after the result of the first result came negative and said that he will not meet his family members until the hospital declares him virus-free.

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