A man who refused to wear a mask in a downtown Victoria restaurant and coughed at staff is the latest person to be handed a $230 fine by police.
Victoria police were called to the Cafe Mexico Restaurant about 8:30 p.m. Saturday (Dec. 5) after restaurant staff reported that a man refused to wear a mask when not seated at his assigned booth.
When staff asked the man to follow provincial health guidelines, he became belligerent, swearing at staff and refusing to comply, Victoria police said.
As he left the restaurant, he coughed in an exaggerated manner toward staff.
Police arrived and found the man as he was leaving the restaurant.
He was fined $230 for abusive or belligerent behaviour under the COVID-19 Related Measures Act.
The provincial health order requires masks in all public indoor settings, including when not seated at a table at a restaurant.
People with health conditions or with physical, cognitive or mental impairments who cannot wear a mask, people who cannot remove a mask on their own, and children under the age of 12 are exempt from the order.
Last week, West Shore RCMP fined a 40-year-old man twice for refusing to wear a mask and causing a disturbance inside the Peninsula Co-op gas station on Millstream Road and a Starbucks in View Royal.
