A 51-year-old man was sentenced to immediate imprisonment for three weeks by the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today (June 19) for violating the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C).
The man was issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that he must conduct quarantine at the residential address stated by himself on the quarantine order for 14 days. The man was later found to have given a false residential address for use as the place of quarantine to an authorised officer at Shenzhen Bay Control Point upon return to Hong Kong from the Mainland on May 8. He was charged with contravening Section 9 of the Regulation and was sentenced by the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today to immediate imprisonment for three weeks.
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. Giving false or misleading information to an authorised officer 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 provide accurate information to authorised officers.
A spokesman for the DH said the sentence sends a clear message to the community that giving false or misleading information to an authorised officer is a criminal offence and that the Government will not tolerate such actions. As of today, a total of 21 persons have been convicted by the court for offences related to violation of compulsory quarantine with sentences to imprisonment for up to three months or a fine of $10,000. The spokesman reiterated that resolute actions will be taken against anyone who has violated the law relating to compulsory quarantine.
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