A video clip showing a 13-year-old girl under quarantine
going out for dinner in Hong Kong was among four suspected violation cases that
have gone viral, sparking a public uproar as the city battles a surge in coronavirus cases and its leader warned of zero
tolerance against anyone breaking self-isolation rules.
Police
have located three violators within hours of their arrival and sent them to
government quarantine facilities or hospitals immediately.
Chief
Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Tuesday said it was “very disappointing
and distressing” to know people were still violating the rules.
A
reporting hotline will soon be set up for the public to rat the offenders out,
Lam said.
“These
people who openly violated the mandatory home quarantine order will increase
the risk of virus transmission. The behaviour is very irresponsible,” Lam said.
“We appeal to these groups of people not to defy the law, and is it worth
leaving a criminal record for going out once?”
All
arrivals into Hong Kong from overseas need to follow a 14-day mandatory home
quarantine order since last week, but some have openly flouted the rules,
raising concerns over loopholes in the system.
Despite
repeated warnings of legal actions against offenders, videos and pictures have
emerged of people with quarantine wristbands going out for dinner and to buy
daily necessities from supermarkets.
A
13-year-old girl in home quarantine was sent to a government quarantine
facility after being found dining in a Japanese restaurant on On Kwan Street in
Sha Tin on Monday night with her uncle.
Her
case came to light when the girl, wearing a wristband, was discovered by another
diner while she was leaving the restaurant. The diner then started videotaping
her.
“Why
did you come out with a wristband? Don't leave, I'm calling police!” the man
who captured the video was heard saying. He also asked a taxi driver not to
drive the girl when she and her uncle tried to get into the car.
The
five-minute video ended with the pair running into a hotel to seek help. A
police spokeswoman said the girl was later located by officers at the Courtyard
by Marriott hotel in Sha Tin.
A
customer, Vincent Tang, who was at the scene at the Japanese restaurant,
narrated his experience to the Post. He said the man who
took the video sat next to the girl, and he warned everyone present there to
leave immediately after noticing the girl had a wristband.
“I
was terrified, I went there just to have a quick dinner after work,” he said.
“The behaviour of the girl was irresponsible. Although she’s not a confirmed
case, everyone has reasons to be scared.”
The
Japanese restaurant said all equipment, including utensils and menus the pair
had used, had been destroyed immediately. The store will be closed on Tuesday
for sanitisation.
According
to a law enforcement source, the girl, who studies in the US, arrived in the
city from New York on Monday evening. Another source said her uncle had booked
a room at the hotel for her and the pair had gone out for dinner before
checking in.
The
girl was sent to the quarantine facility in Fo Tan shortly after Monday
midnight.
In
another case in the early hours of Tuesday, a 24-year-old man wearing an
electronic wristband was found enjoying his meal with his friend at a noodle
shop in Tsuen Wan. Other customers called police upon noticing his wristband.
The
man was found to have a fever and was sent to Yan Chai Hospital, where he was
admitted into an isolation ward.
A
law enforcement source said the man was under compulsory quarantine at his
Tseun Wan home and was given the wristband after his return from Malaysia last
Thursday.
Police
also confirmed another case on Monday night, upon notification from the Office
of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO), that a person in
compulsory home quarantine in Ma On Shan was suspected to have left home. The
man was later sent to the government quarantine camp in Fo Tan.
Police
will follow up the three cases with the Department of Health and Department of
Justice, the source said.
“Such
behaviour has created a serious threat to public health,” police said in their
statement, adding they would continue to work closely with the Department of
Health and follow up on suspected violators of the quarantine order.
In
another case, a woman, with her wristband on, was found shopping at a
supermarket in Whampoa, Hung Hom. Pictures of her paying at the store have gone
viral.
The
government on Saturday announced a “zero-tolerance” policy, suggesting anyone
defying the rules would be prosecuted without warning. The maximum penalty is a
fine of HK$25,000 (RM14,284) along with imprisonment for six months. The
violators will also be sent to the government quarantine facilities
immediately.
So
far, five people have been sent to the quarantine centres for leaving their
dwelling places without permission, while police were looking for another 36
violators.
Lam
said the authorities had dispatched about 6,000 to 7,000 wristbands a day over
the past week on average. But questions have also been raised about the
effectiveness of the wristbands.
The
OGCIO, responsible for the technical support of the wristbands, said returnees
were paired to a mobile app. From time to time, the returnees will have to use
the app to scan the QR code, and their locations will be automatically reported
to the office.
If
the phone is taken out of the designated quarantine area, the app will prompt
the person to scan his wristband, and the Department of Health and police will
be alerted if he is not able to scan the band within a minute.
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