Two men were sentenced by the Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (September 2) for violating the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap 599C).
The first case involved a man aged 79, who was earlier issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that he must conduct quarantine at home for 14 days. Before the expiry of the quarantine order, he left the place of quarantine on July 7, 2020, without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer and was stopped by an Immigration Officer at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point. He was charged with two counts of contravening sections 8(1), 8(4) and 8(5) of the Regulation and was fined a total of $5,000 for the two charges today.
The second case involved a man aged 27, who was earlier issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that he must conduct quarantine at home for 14 days. Before the expiry of the quarantine order, he left the place of quarantine on May 13, 2021, without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer. He was charged with contravening sections 8(1) and 8(5) of the Regulation and was fined $10,000 today.
Breaching a compulsory quarantine order is a criminal offence and offenders are subject to a maximum fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for six months. A spokesman for the Department of Health said the sentence sends a clear message to the community that breaching a quarantine order is a criminal offence that the Government will not tolerate, and solemnly reminded the public to comply with the regulations. As of today, a total of 179 persons have been convicted by the courts for breaching quarantine orders and have received sentences including immediate imprisonment for up to 14 weeks or a fine of up to $15,000. The spokesman reiterated that resolute actions will be taken against anyone who has breached the relevant regulations.
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