Taiwan fines Hongkongers for fleeing quarantine

The Hongkongers were found in the busy Taipei shopping district of Ximending. File image: Shutterstock

Taiwanese authorities have fined three Hong Kong residents HK$18,000 each for violating quarantine regulations aimed at combating the spread of the coronavirus.



The Central News Agency reported on Saturday that the three individuals, two men and a woman, were moved to a secure quarantine facility and will be released on February 23. Their 14-day quarantine period is back-dated to their arrival on the island on February 8.



Government officials in Taipei say the three Hongkongers gave false addresses and phone numbers to health officials, who were then unable to reach them during the two-week home quarantine period.



They were found in a rented flat in the Ximending shopping district of Taipei on Friday.



The maximum fine for people who violate Taiwan's quarantine measures has been set at NT$150,000 or nearly HK$39,000.



The island put in place the quarantine arrangements on February 6, saying that Taiwan residents who return from the mainland, Hong Kong or Macau would be subject to 14 days of home quarantine.



The quarantine measures were later extended to people from Hong Kong, but since then, SAR residents and others who have recently been in Hong Kong, have been all but banned from Taiwan due to the outbreak.



Separately, the Central News Agency said one Taiwan resident who had returned from Hong Kong had been tracked down by police after he broke his quarantine. It said that in total, 22 people in Taipei have been fined for violating the home quarantine arrangements.