ROME — The mayor of the southern Italian city of Bari scolded an elderly man who was going to visit his daughter in the city, insisting he was slapping a heavy fine on him “for your own good.”

The Italian daily La Repubblica published the scene captured on video in which the mayor, Antonio Decaro, reproaches the retiree for going to have lunch with his daughter during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

“You have to go home. You may not go eat at your daughter’s house,” the mayor said, before fining the man 533 euros ($580). “We are fining you for your own good,” he added.

Local police had pulled the man over as he attempted to drive to his daughter’s apartment.

“You can’t go around,” the mayor told him during the stop. “Don’t you think I would like to go and eat at my mother and father’s? They live 20 meters away from me but we don’t see each other.”

“You made a mistake and next time be more careful; you hurt yourself and your family,” the mayor said. “If I find out you’re going to visit your daughter again, I swear I will have you followed and I will impound you and your car.”

On Tuesday, the ANSA news agency reported that the mayor of Bari had set up extra checkpoints, each manned by ten police officers, to stop citizens who venture out of their homes.

In the past 24 hours more than 10,000 Italians have been fined for failure to comply with the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, Mediaset noted.

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