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| Singapore toughens law to better combat SARS |
| CCTV.COM 2003-04-26 11:04:18 |
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Singapore parliament Friday approved an amendment to the Infectious Disease Act to better tackle the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS）.
Under the amended act, anyone who knows or suspects he has an infectious disease must go to a designated treatment center and cannot go to public places or he will face stiff fines and even jails.
People who break home quarantine order will be tagged or even arrested and detained at a hospital or some other place.
In addition, they can be fined up to 5,000 Singapore dollars （about 2,800 US dollars and repeat offenders will be referred to court.
The amended law also allows for contaminated areas to be quarantined and any suspected sources of infection can be destroyed.
The amendment gives health authorities more teeth to deal with irresponsible and recalcitrant people who breach quarantine orders and disregard the advice of doctors.
Under the amended law, people who refuse to cooperate with disease control measures or provide false or misleading information face a fine of 10,000 Singapore dollars （about 5,600 US dollars） and jail up to six months, and repeat offenders can be fined up to 20,000 Singapore dollars （about 11,200 US dollars） and jailed up to a year.
The law also says that because SARS may be masked by other medical conditions, health authorities can in some suspect deaths order a postmortem, insist on special precautions in handling the body, and also not allow for a funeral wake.
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Editor: Yang Feiyang Source:Xinhua
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