Hundreds flout lockdown rules
Hundreds of people have flouted the lockdown rules in the past 12 days, leading to arrests and court appearances.
People in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill have been caught by police after breaking the coronavirus lockdown rules.
While a few have been set to appear in court on other offences, many have been charged with obstructing a medical officer under the Health Act or breaching the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act.
During a briefing yesterday afternoon, director-general of heath, Ashley Bloomfield, said 263 people had been issued with warnings over breaching lockdown rules, with 16 of them facing charges.
In a separate statement yesterday, police said an Auckland man had been arrested after being spoken to three times earlier in the week for being outside in public ‘‘with no good reason’’.
He was later found at a house under construction in West Auckland’s Hobsonville, drinking in a garage on Monday evening.
The man was charged with unlawfully being in an enclosed area and obstructing a medical officer under the Health Act.
The man is set to appear at the Waita¯ kere District Court.
In Auckland CBD, police also spotted a man and a woman acting suspiciously next to a motorbike. The man became ‘‘very aggressive and refused to co-operate’’, police said.
He was found with drugs and utensils, and later summonsed to appear in court on June 10.
The woman was given a written warning for the obstruction of a medical officer under the Health Act after previously being given a verbal warning.
Meanwhile, a 44-year-old Christchurch man was arrested on Monday after a third warning for breaching the level four lockdown restrictions.
The man was charged with a number of offences including drug offences, driving while suspended and breaching the Civil Defence Emergency Act. He is set to appear at Christchurch District Court.
In Dunedin, a 29-year-old man was driving in the Corstorphine area when he was spoken to by police. They said he was arrested for breaking lockdown restrictions and had been warned a number of times last week for non-essential travel and for associating with people outside of his bubble.
He was on his last warning and was due to appear at the Dunedin District Court on a charge of obstructing/hindering a person assisting a medical officer. A 44-year-old man is set to appear at the Invercargill District Court after breaching the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act and drug offences.