By Bahk Eun-ji
A 33-year-old woman was found guilty of breaking self-quarantine, Monday, but a local court handed down a lighter-than-usual sentence as she did so to visit her dying father.
The Cheongju District Court fined the woman 1.5 million won ($1,332).
The woman was required to self-isolate for two weeks upon her arrival from the United States, April 24 last year, but she left her home the next day to visit a hospital where her father had been hospitalized due to cancer, after she heard he was in critical condition. She had tested negative when she took a coronavirus test at the airport.
The next day, Cheongju City Government filed a complaint with the police against the woman for violating the self-isolation rule, after confirming the violation through a GPS tracking system.
"(Knowing that she did so to meet her father) we felt bad to file the complaint, but we had to do so due to regulations," an official of the Cheongju Public Health Center said.
The father died six days after her visit.
While the maximum punishment for violating self-quarantine is a fine of up to 10 million won or a prison term of up to a year, the court decided upon leniency.
"It was not a light crime to break the self-quarantine rule considering the seriousness of the COVID-19 situation," the court said in the ruling. "But we took into consideration the reason for her violation as she tried to meet her father for the last time, and her violation did not spread the virus."
A 33-year-old woman was found guilty of breaking self-quarantine, Monday, but a local court handed down a lighter-than-usual sentence as she did so to visit her dying father.
The Cheongju District Court fined the woman 1.5 million won ($1,332).
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| Gettyimagesbank |
The next day, Cheongju City Government filed a complaint with the police against the woman for violating the self-isolation rule, after confirming the violation through a GPS tracking system.
"(Knowing that she did so to meet her father) we felt bad to file the complaint, but we had to do so due to regulations," an official of the Cheongju Public Health Center said.
The father died six days after her visit.
While the maximum punishment for violating self-quarantine is a fine of up to 10 million won or a prison term of up to a year, the court decided upon leniency.
"It was not a light crime to break the self-quarantine rule considering the seriousness of the COVID-19 situation," the court said in the ruling. "But we took into consideration the reason for her violation as she tried to meet her father for the last time, and her violation did not spread the virus."
