Two Victorians who breached Covid restrictions by leaving hotel quarantine rooms caught out at airport
Two Victorians who breached Covid-19 restrictions and provided false information to border officials came unstuck with a lie.
A Victorian duo who breached Covid-19 restrictions and provided false information to border officials came unstuck at Adelaide Airport after they both used the same name.
Chol Manjok and his nephew Semain Akue Bol, both aged 19, were arrested at the Pullman medi-hotel on August 5 by SA Police officers decked in gas masks and full PPE after failing to remain in their quarantine rooms and wear a mask.
They arrived from Melbourne the day before their arrest and were ordered to isolate at the quarantine facility in Adelaide’s CBD.
Mr Manjok was charged with failing to comply with Covid-19 directions and stating false details at Adelaide Airport as well as disorderly behaviour.
He pleaded guilty to the offences in Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Mr Bol faced two counts of failing to comply with directions — once at Adelaide Airport and the other time in the Adelaide CBD — which he pleaded guilty to.
He was also initially charged with failing to give his identity to an authorised officer at the airport but he pleaded not guilty to the offence.
The charge was later dropped, with the allegation amalgamated with one of his other offences.
The duo both appeared via video link from prison where they have spent the past 19 days.
According to the prosecution, Mr Manjok provided a false name and date of birth to police officers when he was processed at the airport.
Police prosecutor Sarah Melville said Mr Bol firstly refused to provide his name to border officials then later provided the same name that his uncle gave.
She said it was possible the two Sudanese nationals were “prohibited travellers” who were not allowed to enter the state under Covid-19 border restrictions in place at the time. But she did not have the information at hand to be sure.
Within about 16 minutes of Mr Manjok being taken to his quarantine room, he walked out into the corridor.
He was seen a second time leaving the room without a mask on and walked towards the room where his nephew, Mr Bol, was staying.
Ms Melville said Mr Manjok was asked by police and security to return to his room, which he complied with, before calling the hotel reception and being verbally abusive to the staff member.
She said he also threatened to damage the room.
After leaving a third time, Mr Manjok was again told to return to his room by police and security, but made further verbal threats and was subsequently arrested, the prosecutor said.
During that time, Mr Bol was also seen leaving his hotel room once and was verbally abusive to a hotel staff member when confronted, according to the prosecutor.
Ms Melville also claimed there were arrest warrants in place for Mr Manjok in Victoria, but Magistrate Todd Grant said she had not provided sufficient proof of that to the court.
Tim Dibden, for Mr Manjok, told the court that his client, who worked in construction in Melbourne, travelled to Adelaide to visit his girlfriend and would stay with his aunty in Salisbury while undertaking a four-month civil construction course.
The lawyer said his client then planned to move to the Northern Territory for work.
Mr Dibden said Mr Manjok had too much to drink while on the flight over and did not recall giving a false name to officers but conceded he did because people were calling him ‘Eddie’.
He said the man wandered down the corridor to check on Mr Bol and he had also returned four negative Covid-19 tests.
“He realises now, once the alcohol wore off, that he could have spent two weeks in a hotel room watching movies as opposed to being in the infirmary,” Mr Dibden said.
“He is apologetic to the South Australian public for his behaviour.
“He understands that by failing to wear a mask each time he left his room, it could potentially be a break out incident.”
Magistrate Grant said his intoxication did not “carry much weight under the circumstances” and that the protection and safety of the community was paramount.
“In particular, (frontline workers) have a very difficult job in working in these hotels,” he said.
“They're putting themselves at risk for the community and they deserve better than this.”
Mr Manjok was sentenced to one month and 12 days imprisonment, backdated to August 4, for failing to comply with Covid-19 directions and was fined $300 for stating false information to police.
He will be released from custody within about three weeks.
Mr Bol — who appeared unrepresented — said he came to Adelaide wanting to “start fresh” and find a job and “turn his life around”.
“I want to become a better man — honestly. I didn’t expect any of this,” he told the court.
He was handed a jail term of one month and six days, backdated to the date of the offence, so he will be released in about two weeks.
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