Returning resident shocked by 6,000 pataca parking bill

A local resident, who recently returned to Macau from Hong Kong, was stunned to learn his car parking bill had grown to nearly 6,000 patacas while he was completing the mandatory 14-day quarantine.
The person, a permanent resident in both Special Administrative Regions who requested not to be identified, explained that he was finally allowed to travel between Hong Kong and Macau for work following the reopening of the Hong Kong–Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB).
Upon arriving by car at the Macau border post, he was surprised that the officer did not know what to do regarding his situation.
“The officer seemed to be a bit confused, asking me where I was coming from,” the resident told the Times. “He had to think a lot and ask someone on the radio what to do with me.”
The resident was told that he should drive his vehicle and park it in the HKZMB Macau Port parking lot before undergoing medical observation procedures and quarantine.
According to the source, the procedures went smoothly and a few hours later he was lodged in one of the government designated hotels for his 14-day quarantine.
After the two-week quarantine, he received a big surprise.
“I was pretty shocked when I saw the parking bill. I thought there was some special arrangement in place to help with that part since it was not a common situation,” he said. “I did not park my car there because I wanted to. I was told that was the only way.”
He was charged for over 15 days of parking. As explained in the receipt by the company that manages the parking lot, parking is charged at 15 patacas per hour for a total of 360 patacas per day.
“There was nothing I could do besides pay,” the resident told the Times. He said the price was “brutally high” compared to the prices of public car parks across the city.
Not wanting to make his story a “protest,” the local resident said that his purpose was to warn other people about what to expect in case they decide to travel to Macau using private vehicles.
In order to drive through the HKZMB, private vehicles have to acquire a special license plate which is available by tender at 30,000 patacas. They also have to pay a toll of RMB150 (170 patacas) per trip.

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