We all remember the disgusting pictures of young millennials frolicking on beaches during spring break early in what has become the coronavirus saga. Since that time, authorities have cracked down on scofflaws.
Most of the time, they’ve gotten it right. For example, they have arrested people vapid enough to hold “coronavirus parties,” where they deliberately congregate in violation of the health threat they pose not only to themselves but the population at large. Other times, the police have gone overboard in enforcing the law. Whether, for example, they needed to charge a 99-year-old man whose only offense was attending an engagement party remains to be seen.
And then there are the cases where the powers that be get it completely wrong. Exhibit A is the £1,700 ($2119.53) visited on Garry and Jaz Mott, an Australian couple who posted their vacation photos on Facebook. According to the Independent, the couple was penalized for “infringement” of lockdown rules arising out of their “non-essential travel.”
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What authorities failed to take into account is the date of the photos. The pictures were taken in 2019!
Ms Mott posted 12 photos of herself and her husband onto Facebook on 5 April, tagging in the location as Lakes Entrance, around two hours from their home in Traralgon.
A few days later, on 9 April, the couple were shocked to find a police officer at their door.
Ms Mott told The Independent that the officer “just handed me the fine and walked off”. She was then forced to contact the station, where she was told she had to pay the fine.
Eventually, the coronavirus nightmare will end, and we can all resume our normal lives. Until that day arrives, it would do the global community a world of good if police could abandon their “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality.
