PHILIPSBURG--Two men were arrested in separate incidents during the Wednesday night curfew hours.
In the first incident, patrol officers saw a man G.P.R. riding a scooter back and forth on Boardwalk Boulevard. As it was past 8:00pm, police attempted to stop R. to check whether he had the required documentation to move about during the curfew.
When he saw police coming in his direction, R. fled towards Front Street via one of the alleys. After a short chase, the officers arrested him in the vicinity of electronics store Music Man on Front Street around 8:45pm.
On inspection of the scooter, police noticed that it had been stolen. R. was then charged for being in possession of a stolen vehicle. He was taken to the Philipsburg police station, where he is being held for questioning.
In the second incident, patrol officers saw a sport utility vehicle (SUV) driving on W.J.A. Nisbeth Road (Pondfill) around 9:30pm. Officers gave the driver a signal to stop, but the person kept on driving and tried to speed away toward Pointe Blanche.
Officers gave chase to the SUV and finally stopped the driver in the vicinity of Juancho Yrausquin Boulevard. However, this was only after he damaged another car and a utilities company GEBE water pipe in his efforts to avoid capture.
The man was arrested and given a fine of almost NAf. 2,000.
Prime Minister and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Chairperson Silveria Jacobs has enacted several measures to prevent the further spread of coronavirus COVID-19. One of these measures is a regulation stipulating that all persons – except employees of a limited number of essential businesses and services – must remain in their homes between 8:00pm and 6:00am daily.
Justice Minister Anna Richardson warned on Tuesday that persons making use of public roads between these hours risk being arrested.
“The public is requested to stay at home unless they have one of the letters stating the reason they are on the road. Those who do not adhere to the measures issued by the Prime Minister and the EOC run the risk of being detained or fined,” said police in a press release on Thursday afternoon.
