Coronavirus: 129 people face fines for defying home quarantine

Officials in the UAE have referred 129 people to the Attorney-General for failing to abide by quarantine measures.

Those who fail to comply with home quarantine measures will be referred to the Emergency and Crisis Prosecution at the Federal Public Prosecution if the violation is committed for a third time.

Those caught flouting the country's stay-home orders face hefty fines and time behind bars.

"They will be tried and jailed for a minimum of three years or fined a minimum of Dh100,000 as per the law," the Emergency and Crisis Prosecution said in a statement carried by state news agency Wam.

"First-time offenders will only be fined Dh50,000 once a report is filed and the offender is informed of his or her violation.

"The fine shall be doubled to Dh100,000 for second-time offenders."

The wave of arrests came after police in Dubai issued a stark warning to people breaking stay-home measures or caught mocking the strategy,

Dubai Police said photographs of those who breach stay-at-home regulations will be circulated publicly, while significant fines will be imposed for breaching restrictions on travel.

People who visit healthcare facilities unnecessarily will be fined Dh1,000 and leaving home for unnecessary reasons is punishable by a Dh2,000 fine.

Col Saeed Al Hajeri, director of the force's cyber crime division, said the new policy was designed to deter others from breaching restrictions on travel put in place to curb the spread of coronavirus.

“We have seen many people who are not responsible and they don’t follow the humble requests from the government and the media to stay at home,” Col Al Hajeri said. “These reckless people are not only not following the orders they also set an example for others to follow their steps.

“That is why the leadership decided to take the next level and to publish their photos without blurring their photos in the media.