Two persons were sentenced by the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (July 5) for violating the Prevention and Control of Disease (Disclosure of Information) Regulation (Cap. 599D) (the Regulation).
A 30-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman were patients of COVID-19, as confirmed earlier by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH). During the CHP's epidemiological investigation of the confirmed cases, the man provided false information to authorised officers on six occasions between April 16 and 18, while the woman provided false information to an authorised officer on April 17. The man and the woman were charged with six counts and one count of contravening sections 3(4) and 3(5) of the Regulation, respectively. The man was sentenced by the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today to immediate imprisonment for a total of three months for all the offences, while the woman was sentenced to imprisonment for 20 days.
Under the Regulation, it is a criminal offence for any person to provide false or misleading information to authorised officers. Offenders face a maximum fine of $10,000 and imprisonment for six months.
A spokesman for the DH said that it is a grossly irresponsible act to conceal or provide false or misleading information to an authorised officer, as this may hinder the contact tracing process and pose a serious threat to public health. As of today, a total of four persons have been convicted by the courts for breaching the Regulation. The spokesman reiterated that resolute actions will be taken against anyone who has breached the relevant regulations.
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