Photo: VCG

A man in Northeast China's Liaoning Province was sentenced to nine months in jail on Sunday for obstructing public service amid the new outbreak of COVID-19. This is the first criminal case related to epidemic prevention since February this year after the province started fighting the virus. 

The prosecution was closed after only four days as the case is related to the epidemic prevention and control, according to the local court in the Mongolian Autonomous County of Fuxin in Liaoning.

Between March 16 and 17, the county carried out a first round of county-wide nucleic acid testing. The defendant, surnamed Wen, did not follow the guidelines of the field staff at the nucleic acid testing site and jumped the queue. After being stopped by staff, Wen went home and returned with a kitchen knife to the testing site. He wielded the weapon against the workers causing injuries and damage to the facilities, according to the local court. 

Wen's actions hindered the normal operation of nucleic acid testing, resulting in a negative social impact, said the court. Wen's behavior constituted an offense that obstructed public service and the charges by the public prosecutor should be sustained, according to the local court.  

On Sunday, Liaoning reported 12 local COVID-19 cases and 114 asymptomatic infections, the local health commission said on Monday.