Coronavirus Melbourne: Secret KFC party-goers busted

Sixteen party goers fined $26,000 for breaching Victoria’s lockdown in possibly the most expensive fast food fix in history.

A party was busted for devouring KFC in a Dandenong house in Melbourne’s lockdown suburbs. Picture: Matt Taylor.

Sixteen hungry party goers have been fined $26,000 for breaching Victoria’s tough COVID-19 rules in what may be the most expensive fast food fix in history.

Police dished out the $1,652 penalties after busting a party devouring KFC in a Dandenong house in Melbourne’s lockdown suburbs at 1.30am Friday.

Victoria’s top cop Shane Patton said ambulance officers spotted a group ordering 20 meals at a KFC and tipped police off who then used the car’s number plate to track the address down and raid the house.

“It was a town house. When we went in there was two people asleep but there were 16 others hiding out the back and they just got the KFC meals at a birthday,” he said.

“That is absolutely ridiculous, that type of behaviour. It is an expensive night when you think apart from the KFC, we have issued 16 infringements at that amount, that is $26,000 that birthday party is costing them.

“That is a heck of a birthday party to recall. They will remember that one for a long time.”

Police issued 60 fines in the first 24 hours of Melbourne’s lockdown and checked almost 5,500 vehicles at roadblocks thrown around the hotspot suburbs. A dozen motorists were fined for various breaches of the restrictions.

Four fines were issued after a brothel was raided in what police described as a “deliberate, blatant and obvious” breach of the Chief Health Officer’s directions.

A Docklands couple trying to break the ring of steel and visit their holiday house on Phillip Island at 1.30am have also been fined. Earlier, they had been turned away at one vehicle checkpoint and given a warning. But they made a second attempt to beat the blockade and were picked up and the driver was fined.

Police raided an apartment in La Trobe Street and found 10 people playing music, and hit each of them with $1,652 fines. Five of the party goers were also arrested on criminal damage, assault and breach of bail offences.

Almost 5.2 million Victorians have been trapped in the COVID-19 clamp down covering metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire to the north of the city.

Geelong has not been locked down but concern is growing that it could be included if numbers increase in the state’s second biggest city. On Friday, there were six active cases in the city.