Coronavirus crisis: Magistrate slams Perth man William Francis Forde for breaching regional lockdown by slipping into Broome

A magistrate has described as “inexcusable” and “incomprehensible” a Perth man’s decision to sneak into Broome after being denied entry due to regional WA’s COVID-19 lockdown. William Francis Forde, 36, fronted Geraldton Magistrate’s Court today and pleaded guilty to engaging in a conduct that contravened a requirement. The court was told Forde was stopped at a checkpoint on March 27 and told he was not allowed to enter the town. He then lied to police, telling them he lived in Broome — where he purported to work as a yoga instructor — and was on his way to return his girlfriend’s van. Unable to provide any proof of residence in the town, Forde was told to apply for an exemption and sent packing. After filing an application, in which he stated he only had enough food for one day and that his health was “at risk”, Forde spent the night in his van near the Sandfire Roadhouse. When at 12.40pm the next day he learnt his application had been rejected, he told police he would return to Perth before driving away in a southerly direction. The following night, police found Forde asleep in his van in the backyard of a Louis Street, Broome property, about 300 metres from the checkpoint. He was arrested and spent two nights in custody, which included a stint at in the psychiatric ward at Broome Hospital. Defence lawyer Eva Svanberg said Forde — who was born in the UK and has lived in Australia permanently since “about 2007” — was struggling financially and chose to “avoid the roadblock” because he had “nowhere else to go”. She said a family in Broome had offered him a place to stay in exchange for yoga lessons. “He doesn’t engage with the news on his phone very often,” she said. “He was travelling up to Broome, he wasn’t aware of the interregional travel restrictions…. He had very little money, not much food, and he was feeling rather desperate. “That’s why he ended up proceeding to Broome after his application for an exemption was knocked back. “He is very sorry for what he did. He didn’t realise the significance of the restrictions at the time. But Magistrate Chris Miocevich dismissed this explanation. “It must have been abundantly clear to him that these extraordinary measures were put in place for a reason and he just chose to ignore them,” Mr Miocevich said. “I really just don’t accept what he says about him not knowing this is serious… I’m baffled as to his thought process.” Mr Miocevich told Forde by ignoring the travel ban he had “put everyone at risk”, but opted not to impose the maximum sentence of 12 months jail and/or a $12,600 fine. He instead imposed a $3000 fine and ordered Forde to pay court costs of $118.50. “It’s inexcusable, your actions on this time,” he said. “(But) you have no record, so you’re otherwise a person of good character. You’ve made an appalling judgement on this day.” After receiving his punishment Forde told Mr Miocevich he was “very sorry”. Meanwhile, a Geraldton senior who repeatedly flouted orders to self-quarantine after he flew home from New Zealand last month was today fined $2000. Peter Edwin Richards, 73, pleaded guilty in Geraldton Magistrate’s Court to failing to comply with a direction. After arriving in Geraldton on March 26, Richards was seen talking to other residents at his retirement village, cycling around town, and on two occasions left his home to go shopping. When confronted by other residents at his retirement village, Richards repeatedly ignored their pleas that he remain inside under isolation. When police were notified, he reportedly told officers: “You need to be sensible about this; I need to go out.” Magistrate Chris Miocevich told Richards a “significant fine” was called for to “as a deterrent to you and to other people”. “These laws were put in place to keep the community safe and, in particular, vulnerable members of society — which included the people at the retirement village you were at,” he said. “You ignored their request to comply with the quarantine… You just thought of yourself and nobody else. “I can tell you (the fine) would have been significantly more but for the fact you are 73-years-of-age, you have no prior record and you’re on a pension.”