Sars patient arrested

2003-05-20 13:11

Beijing - Police in central Henan province have arrested a man infected with Sars for violating infectious diseases laws and escaping from Sars quarantine, an act punishable by death, hospital officials said on Tuesday.

A tough new Supreme Court interpretation of the "infectious disease law" last week allowed the death penalty for any intentional transmission of Sars and jail for up to seven years for those resisting quarantine measures.

Liu Baocheng was arrested upon his release from the Tanghe county hospital after recovering from severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) on Sunday, an official at the hospital named Li said.

"He was arrested for escaping a Sars quarantine in Shanxi (province), Taiyuan (city) last month," Li said.

"He violated the infectious disease law and could have infected many other people."

Following his escape from a Taiyuan hospital on April 19, Li came into contact with 19 people in Shanxi province and 20 people in Henan province before police caught him and placed him in the Tanghe hospital, according to a report on the People's Daily website.

All 39 people that came in contact with him were isolated and placed under observation for Sars, it said.

But, according to Li, none of the 39 developed Sars and all have been subsequently released.

China has been the worst hit country in the world by Sars, with a cumulative total of more than 5 200 infected and almost 300 fatalities.

Chinese police earlier this month arrested a man in northern Inner Mongolia for refusing to cooperate with doctors and escaping quarantine.

Li Song was infected with Sars in Beijing in late March and upon his return to Linhe, Inner Mongolia, he infected six family members, including his father, mother and wife who all died.

According to local press reports, Li escaped quarantine in an effort to help treat those of his family members who became sick after he was hospitalised.

- AFX