Two more cases of people breaching quarantine

The representative of the Public Security Police Force (PSP) at the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center advised that the PSP has detected two more cases of people under quarantine who have violated the quarantine rules in breach of the law.

The two new cases were reported yesterday during the daily press conference at the Center. The PSP official revealed that one of the cases is a local resident while the other is a non-resident worker (TNR) from Nepal.

According to the PSP spokesperson, the Macau resident breached the quarantine rules by leaving the house where he was placed under home quarantine. In the case of the TNR, the police said that he had provided a false declaration and information to the force, supplying a false home address where he was supposed to be in quarantine.

Both of them have already been located and detained by the police authorities. They will now face charges for breaching the provisions of the law of Prevention, Control and Treatment of Infectious Diseasesand may be liable for a maximum penalty including a prison sentence of up to six months or a fine of up to 60 days according to the penal framework.

For the time being, it is not clear if the TNR will also face additional charges for providing false declarations to the authorities, which constitutes another crime punishable by the Macau laws.

The two cases are in addition to another three reported on Tuesday. The earlier three comprised two other local residents and one TNR from Indonesia who also breached the quarantine rules by leaving their homes or the quarantine hotel.

All the cases are being processed and will be forwarded to the Public Prosecutions Office for further investigation.

The police force also added that of the five cases reported in the last two days, four have been sent to compulsory isolation in a government facility, while the other case is currently undergoing quarantine in the neighboring city of Zhuhai, where he had fled and has been detained with the help of Zhuhai counterparts.

Renato Marques