Two persons were sentenced by the magistrates' courts today (April 21) for violating the Compulsory Quarantine of Certain Persons Arriving at Hong Kong Regulation (Cap. 599C) (the Regulation).
The first case involved a woman aged 29, who was earlier issued a compulsory quarantine order stating that she must conduct quarantine at home for 14 days. Before the expiry of the quarantine order, she left the place of quarantine on July 22, 2020, without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer and was stopped by an immigration officer at Shenzhen Bay Control Point. She was charged with two counts of contravening Section 8(4) and 8(5) of the Regulation and was fined $2,000 for each of the two charges by the Tuen Mun Magistrates' Courts today.
The second case involved a man aged 28, 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 August 11, 2020, without reasonable excuse nor permission given by an authorised officer and was stopped by an immigration officer at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Control Point. He was charged with contravening Sections 8(4) and 8(5) of the Regulation and was sentenced by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today to immediate imprisonment for seven 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. A spokesman for the Department of Health said the sentences send a clear message to the community that breaching a compulsory 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 126 persons have been convicted by the courts for breaching compulsory 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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