The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday urged the public to cooperate with quarantine orders issued to check the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and warned that those who ignore the orders would be prosecuted.
"Many people may not know that if they do not cooperate, they would be violating Article 192 of the Criminal Code and could be sentenced to up to two years in prison," said Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), spokesman of the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office. Violators can also be fined up to NT$1,000.
Chen said that national and local authorities also have the right to undertake various measures not contained in the Criminal Code to prevent the spread of contagious diseases.
The Communicable Disease Prevention Law (傳染病防治法) allows various authorities to fine people who ignore their orders between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000.
A Taiwanese businessman was fined twice over the past two weeks for refusing to allow staff at CKS airport check his temperature.
"This is necessary to protect people and it has nothing to do with human rights," Chen said.
Chen made his remarks yesterday morning after he learned that some Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital nurses were trying to leave the hospital even though everyone inside had been ordered to stay there for two weeks.
"The authorities do have the right to do this. As a result, I hereby urge everybody to cooperate to protect themselves and other people," Chen said.
The authorities have also been trying to crack down on unsubstantiated rumors being spread over the Internet.
"Internet surfers do not have any immunity [from prosecution] for what they say, which means that they have to be responsible for what they say and post on the Internet," said Eric Lee (李相臣), head of the Internet Crime Investigation Squad under the National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau.
"As a result, I want urge Internet surfers not to spread rumors about SARS, especially scary ones, because they may get themselves into trouble by doing this," he said.
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