Frenchman intercepted at Taiwan airport for not paying fine for quarantine breach

法國人因違反檢疫不交罰款在台灣機場被攔截

With help of friends, man was able to spend Christmas with his family


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A French national was prevented from heading home from Taiwan until he had paid a heavy fine for violating the country’s quarantine rules, the Administrative Enforcement Agency’s (AEA) Shihlin Branch said in a press release on Friday (Dec. 24).

The branch said that the Frenchman had arrived in Taiwan from Amsterdam on Sept. 19, 2020, and was required by COVID-19 regulations to undergo home quarantine until Oct. 4. However, he left his quarantine site two days before the quarantine period had ended and was slapped with a NT$200,000 (US$7,200) fine by Taipei’s Department of Health.

The department referred the man to the AEA’s Shihlin Branch in February of this year after he had failed to pay the fine by the prescribed time.

The branch found that the man had neither property nor permanent residence in Taiwan. When branch staff visited the residence he had registered under when entering the country, they found he had moved out at the end of 2020.

They contacted his former landlord but were still unable to find a way to reach the man. The AEA office then notified the National Immigration Agency to bar him from leaving the country.

On Dec. 20, the Frenchman voluntarily contacted the branch and told them that he had become aware of the overdue fine when he was intercepted at the airport as he prepared to leave for France. He said he wanted to know how to pay it so he could depart as soon as possible.

The branch helped him contact his bank and friends in France to arrange for the payment. He finally paid the fine on Thursday, NT$100,000 in cash and the other half by credit card.

The restriction being lifted, he was able to fly back to France in time to spend Christmas with his family, according to the AEA branch.