- That’s one experience at least we wouldn’t live down for a good long while.
Nobody likes being caught naked in public – that’s just embarrassing. But it sure does add to the shame when you get fined hundreds of dollars for violating public health rules.
Two nude sunbathers in Sydney received a ticket for $750 each after the Australian police caught them violating COVID-related stay-at-home orders. And it’s all because they got scared of a deer.
The men, aged 30 and 49, decided to go air out their family jewels on June 27. Despite Sydney’s strict rules about not leaving the city’s metropolitan area, they snuck out and headed for a beach on Australia’s South Coast.
It was all fun and games until a mischievous critter intruded on the beach. After being picked up by the cops, the men told them that a deer suddenly appeared out of the woods.
The story doesn’t say whether the deer was being aggressive, or whatever else might’ve happened. All we know is that the nudist duo escaped the animal into the woods of the Royal National Park.
Without their clothes.
Re-enacting Lost
Running through the woods, the men soon became hopelessly lost. They kept wandering around until they had no option but to call for help.
According to New South Wales Police, the authorities received a call for assistance from the men at around 6 p.m. that night. The cops went to their rescue both by car and a helicopter.
They found the 30-year-old man walking alone along a track in the national park. The police say that he was still naked at the time.
A while later, the helicopter located the 49-year-old – likewise only partially clothed – elsewhere in the woods. Clearly the two had gotten separated in the forest.
Their relief at being rescued probably didn’t last all too long. Both were soon enough handed $750 fines for unlawfully leaving the Greater Sydney area.
New Lockdown
You shouldn’t feel too bad for the adventurous duo, though. They knew perfectly well that they were breaking the law.
It seemed for a moment that we might’ve been getting the better of the COVID pandemic, but unfortunately the end is not yet in sight. The new Delta strain of the coronavirus is much more infectious than previous ones, and cases have started rising again across the world.
It’s the same story in Australia. That’s why residents of the Greater Sydney area have been prohibited from leaving the city since June 21.
The new lockdown measures state that people can leave the area only for work that can’t be done at home, to shop for essentials, for exercise, to seek medical care, or for caregiving or compassionate reasons. People also need to put their masks back on in public.
Legislating ‘Against Idiots’
You could argue that the two men were out “exercising,” but apparently the police were having none of that. They also weren’t the only people caught shirking the rules.
The NSW Police said that on the same day that they caught the sunbathers, they handed out 46 other similar fines as well. Some were for not wearing a mask, but other cases were more egregious.
One man stood out in particular to the police. A 33-year-old Sydney man was stopped driving more than 120 miles away from the city.
“He was issued with a $750 PIN and was directed to immediately return to Sydney,” the police said.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller lamented the situation at a press conference on June 28.
“It’s difficult to legislate against idiots,” he said bluntly.
“Clearly putting people at risk by leaving home without a proper reason, and I think then on top of that, getting lost in the national park and diverting important resources away from the health operation, I think they should be embarrassed,” Fuller commented on the naked sunbathers.
Still, he said that only a “small percentage” of people were ignoring the new rules. Most were cooperating just fine.
But for those who might get similar ideas as the two nudists, Fuller had a warning.
“I can assure you, if you breach the health orders or the guidelines, you will be punished,” he said.