Melbourne man drives 32km for butter chicken, gets $1652 fine from police

A Melbourne man who drove 32km to get his favourite butter chicken has been slapped with a $1652 fine for breaching coronavirus restrictions.

A Melbourne man with a craving for butter chicken has been slapped with a $1652 fine after driving 32km to visit his favourite restaurant.

The man was among 74 people fined in the past 24 hours for breaching the chief health officer’s stage three coronavirus restrictions.

Police said the man was caught after he drove from Werribee in the city’s west all the way to the CBD to purchase a specific butter chicken.

The breach came just a day after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews urged Melburnians to exercise as close as possible to their homes, with the updated Department of Health and Human Services requiring people to use the tracks closest to their house.

Among the other fines issued overnight were people gathered in public and private places to catch up with friends or consume alcohol. Police also caught 10 motorists in breach of the restrictions at vehicle checkpoints across the city.

In the past 24 hours more than 13,000 vehicles were checked at roadblocks on main arterial roads, while 3463 spot checks were conducted by police at homes, businesses and public places across the state.

Almost 122,000 spot checks have been completed since March 21.

Victorian Police and Australian Defence Force personnel inspecting cars at a vehicle checkpoint on the Princes Highway at Little River near Geelong. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Authorities are growing increasingly frustrated by some Victorians who continue to blatantly breach the restrictions by gathering in homes, short term rental apartments or on the street to catch up and drink alcohol.

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent urged people to “please stop” during the week.

“People playing poker, people holding parties, we’re finding people in cupboards, in garages, please stop, do all you can to support what the rest of the community is doing to address this health emergency,” he said.

“The time for discretion is over. Any blatant, deliberate breach of the restrictions will result in an infringement notice being issued.”

More than $1 million in fines have been issued since the coronavirus lockdown was reinstated in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire earlier this month, with at least 700 infringements issued to Victorians flouting the rules.

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