A church minister in Samoa who breached quarantine orders by entering a quarantine facility to see his wife has been fined $ST2,000.
Samoa Observer reports Deputy Police Commissioner Papalii Monalisa Tiai-Keti confirmed the fine but said the security firm responsible for keeping the public at bay will not face the same fate.
“The company did what they were mandated to do by reporting the matter to the Ministry of Health and Police,” Papalii said.
Last week Rev Kini Ulu-Kini broke into the house his wife was self-isolating in after returning from New Zealand by forcing his way past security guards.
The National Emergency Operations Centre is keeping quiet on the matter but Police confirmed the couple now remain in the isolation house for a further 14 day quarantine period.
Rev Ulu-Kini, a Methodist Church minister, declined to comment on the matter and the whereabouts of the isolation house they are in, is not known.
His wife had returned from medical treatment in New Zealand on the last repatriation flight last month and started her isolation in a home cleared by the Ministry of Health.
There has been no comment from the church on the matter and because of the lapse in the management of arriving passengers, Cabinet has slowed repatriation flights by scheduling them every three weeks and not fortnightly.
