A quarantine escapee has been slapped with a fine after scaling two balconies and kicking open a door.
Dalassa Rittia Diane Pau broke out of the Cairns Pacific International hotel in northern Queensland, Australia, on Friday.
The alarm was only raised three days later on Monday, with a search launched for the 22-year-old.
She was tracked down at her mum’s home later that day.
On Tuesday Pau appeared at Cairns Magistrates’ Court where she pleaded guilty to failing to comply with Covid-19 public health direction, unregulated high risk activities and wilful damage, the Cairns Post reported.
She was fined $2,500au (£1,367).
Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said she escaped from the hotel’s fourth floor on Sunday by scaling two balconies before using an outdoor stairwell.
CCTV footage from the hotel appears to show Pau forcing her way through a locked door to get outside.
“She’s kicked it in, so she’s fairly motivated,” Mr Gollschewski told reporters on Tuesday, Canberra Times reports.
He added: “Quarantine can be very difficult for some people, particularly if they’re by themselves, we understand that.
“Nonetheless, it is a very strict control and the whole point of quarantine whether it’s home or hotel quarantine is not to mix with the community, and this person in order to get out has committed some other offences, unfortunately.”
Far North Acting Assistant Commissioner Chris Hodgman described Pau’s actions as “dangerous” and “foolhardy”.
“This is the second time in a couple of weeks where people have put their lives at risk to come out of the Pacific Hotel,” he said outside court.
“For two persons to have done it is insurmountable, it beggars belief.”
The police commissioner said that the young woman cooperated with police and explained how she made her escape.
Pau was thrown back into quarantine after her court appearance.
Although she reportedly tested negative for Covid-19 prior to her escape, she was still required to isolate for 14 days at her expense upon arrival into the country.
Australia’s strict policy for incoming travellers has been enforced during the pandemic in a bid to keep cases low.
It has proved largely successful, with Queensland suffering just five cases a day on average over the past week.
Across the country just over 30,000 infections and 910 deaths have been recorded over the duration of the pandemic.
On June 18, a man who had just arrived in Cairns from Victoria also climbed over a balcony railing in a bid to escape hotel quarantine, but injured himself in a fall.
He had to be taken to hospital.
