Man sentenced for breaching compulsory quarantine order
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The man was earlier issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that he must conduct quarantine at home for 14 days. When the Police were deployed at a restaurant inside a shopping arcade on March 28 upon receipt of report, he was found to have left the place of quarantine without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer before the expiry of the quarantine order. Further investigation revealed that the man had also left the place of quarantine on March 27. He was charged with two counts of contravening sections 8(1) and 8(5) of the Regulation. He was sentenced by the Shatin Magistrates' Courts today to immediate imprisonment for six weeks for each of the two charges, which are to run concurrently.
Pursuant to the Regulation, save for exempted persons, all persons who have stayed in the Mainland, Macao or Taiwan in the 14 days preceding arrival in Hong Kong, regardless of their nationality or travel documents, will be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Moreover, pursuant to the Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E), starting from March 19, all persons arriving from countries or territories outside China would also be subject to compulsory quarantine for 14 days. Breaching a quarantine order is a criminal offence and offenders are subject to a maximum fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months. The Department of Health (DH) solemnly reminds persons under quarantine to comply with the statutory requirements and conduct quarantine for 14 days.
A spokesman for the DH said the sentence sends a clear message to the community that breaching a quarantine order is a criminal offence and that the Government will not tolerate such actions. As of today (June 17), a total of 20 persons have been convicted by the Court with imprisonment sentence up to three months or a fine of HK$10,000. The spokesman reiterated that resolute actions will be taken against anyone who has breached a quarantine order.
Ends/Wednesday, June 17, 2020
Issued at HKT 20:10
Issued at HKT 20:10
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