Saanich Police have issued a homeowner a steep fine for hosting a poker game at their residence with more than six people this past weekend.
In a press release issued on Tuesday, police said that officers responded to reports of a “poker party” gathering at around 10:00 a.m. on Nov. 14.
Officers say they attended a home in the Broadmead area of Saanich to investigate after being informed that there were several people gathering that were suspected of not living there.
When officers arrived at the home, they observed seven people sitting around a table playing poker in the garage. After speaking with the homeowner, police discovered that none of the seven guests, including three additional people inside the residence, lived there.
Police say that after their arrival, all ten of the guests left and the homeowner was issued a violation ticket under the COVID-19 Related Measures Act.
The homeowner’s fine totalled $2300.
The fine was issued as a result of the homeowner holding an event at a private residence with more than 6 guests who do not live there.
According to Saanich Police, this was not the first time officers had attended this home to investigate contraventions of provincial health orders. Police said that at the end of October officers attended the home for a similar report and provided education and a verbal warning on the orders that were in place at that time.
“We will continue to investigate reports related to the provincial health orders currently in place and we hope that incidents such as this create community awareness and encourage compliance of the measures the province has put in place to keep us safe,” said Cst. Markus Anastasiades in the report.
Earlier Tuesday, Campbell River RCMP released that they had issued multiple fines of $2300 to a local business that has been caught not following health regulations on more than one occasion.
Graham Cox
