Two British workers are likely to serve months behind bars after they pleaded they have no money to pay the £9,000 fine.
The two have been fined for visiting a pub while they were supposed to be in self-quarantine.
The two culprits have been identified as 28 year old Georgie Phillips and 31 year old Mark Paul Dillon. Both of them were supposed to self-isolate for two weeks after they returned from an overseas trip, but refused to follow orders and were caught visiting a pub.
Phillips was sentenced to £3,000 fine or 150 days in jail, while Dillon was sentenced twice the amount because he broke the orders twice. Both of them have said they do not have money to pay the fine, meaning that they will have to serve time behind bars.
The defense’s compromise to allow the workers to pay their fines overtime after they find a job was refused by the judge. Judge Gary Perry condemned the actions of the two, saying that self-isolation was a legally binding promise that they made when they returned home.
The two men left the Britain and headed for the Channel Islands of Guernsey on July 10. Their reasons for departure have been reported as a failure to find a job in the UK.
Within hours of arriving on the island however, Dillon was caught shopping in a local store. He was asked to leave the store and go back to quarantine. On the 16th, the duo were spotted together at a local bar by a fellow bar owner who promised to hire the two after self-isolation.
Dillon was apparently spotted once again by the local police force, hiding behind a bus stop to avoid being sighted. Judge Perry said that the last thing that Guernsey needs is outside people coming into the island and disrupting the local order.
Because of its geographical edge as an island along with strictly enforced quarantine rules, the island has only seen 252 cases of Covid-19. After the initial wave, no one currently is contracted with the virus.
The local courts have been adamant in punishing everyone with the fines should they be caught violating the rules. A local man who visited a pub after returning from the main island was also fined with £3,000.
Share with us your thoughts on this story, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more news like this one.
Replaced!