Three men will have to pay the equivalent of ¢150,000 in school supplies after acknowledging that they went to the beach despite the health order issued by the Ministry of Health that prohibits visiting these places as a preventive measure against COVID-19.
In addition, another man was sentenced to four months in prison for the same reason; however, he got a suspended sentence, so he will not have to be in prison.
The Prosecutor’s Office reported Monday that two of the men, with the last names Castillo Rojas and Rowe Orozco, visited the beach, in Matina de Limón, when the sanitary order had already been issued. Both were notified on April 9 and 18 by the Coast Guard, who told them they should not be there.
On April 28, at about 11:00 pm, the men were at that same beach again, so they were detained by the officers.
The other two, identified by their last names Winter Rowe and Guadamuz Solera, were caught on the same beach by the police on April 13 and 16, on both occasions the uniformed officers notified them to let them know that they should not be there. Despite that, on April 28 they were back, so they were arrested.
Criminal charges were filed against the four for the crime of disobedience to authority. All accepted the charges to avoid going to trial.
The beaches and national parks around the country continue closed as part of the measures to contain the contagion of the coronavirus.