TAIPEI — A Filipino migrant worker has been slapped with a hefty fine amounting to more than SR13,000 ($3,500) for breaking Taiwan’s quarantine regulations for just eight seconds.

The man was quarantining in a hotel in Kaohsiung City when he briefly stepped out of his room into the hallway, the city's Department of Health told Taiwan's official Central News Agency (CNA).

The man was caught on CCTV by hotel staff, who contacted the Department of Health, CNA reported. The department fined him 100,000 Taiwan dollars ($3,500), CNN reported.

Under Taiwan's quarantine rules people are not allowed to leave their rooms, no matter for how long.

People in quarantine should not think they won't be fined for leaving their hotel room, the Department of Health said, according to CNA.

There are 56 quarantine hotels in Kaohsiung City, with a total of around 3,000 rooms, the department told CNA.

Taiwan has been widely lauded for its approach to containing the coronavirus pandemic. It has never had to enact strict lockdowns, nor did it resort to drastic restrictions on civil freedoms, like in mainland China. — Agencies