A Taiwanese man was fined NT$100,000 (US$3570) for violating quarantine in November.  The government recently rescinded the fine because it turned out the man was kidnapped by loansharks.

People I know were laughing at first.  Then reality set in.

If the man in quarantine had contracted COVID-19 and it was transmissable, and the goons got it from him, this could have turned into a mass spreading event.  Criminals aren’t likely to turn themselves in, even to doctors.  It would have been very hard to track and trace.

This is not the same as the “gentlemen’s clubs” that were shut down last spring.  The business men visiting those clubs with sex workers might get away with lying about where they were to protect their marriages.  Cooperation from debt collectors would be an admission of guilt.

Taiwanese man taken from quarantine facility by debt collectors

Ministry of Justice withdraws quarantine violation fine against man in central Taiwan

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has withdrawn a quarantine violation fine against a man in central Taiwan after he proved that he was taken from his quarantine location by a group of debt collectors.

In a statement released Wednesday (Jan. 27), the Changhua Branch of MOJ’s Administrative Enforcement Agency said the man, surnamed Chen (陳), was abducted by debt collectors on Nov. 1, 2020, while undergoing the 14-day quarantine requirement at his friend’s residence in Nantou County. It said Chen had returned to Taiwan from Hong Kong on Oct. 30.

According to the authorities, the debt collectors came across Chen when they were looking for his friend for payment. He was physically assaulted before being taken to his home to get money to repay his debt.