A 54-year-old man has been slapped with an expensive party bill after police crashed an indoor birthday celebration at a Port Coquitlam restaurant and bar.
Coquitlam RCMP attended an unnamed local establishment at 11:30 p.m., April 16, after reports there were 30 to 40 people partying at a local establishment.
When they arrived, they found 16 people celebrating a birthday party in contravention of the Office of the Provincial Health Officer current ban on indoor dining.
“They weren’t socially distanced and weren’t wearing face masks,” said Coquitlam RCMP spokesperson Const. Deanna Law.
When police asked the revellers to leave, Law said most complied.
The man celebrating his birthday, however, as well as the person who ran the restaurant and bar were less than cooperative, said Law.
Officers issued a $2,300 ticket to the Port Coquitlam establishment for hosting a non-compliant event and a $575 ticket to the man for attending.
When the “birthday boy” was abusive and belligerent to the attending officer, Coquitlam RCMP slapped him with another $230 fine, raising his birthday ticket debt to $805.
The restaurant and bar has been referred to Fraser Health, and it’s up to them whether it wants to issue any further fines or a closure order, added Law.
“Everyone wants to move ahead of this and it’s very difficult to do when people aren’t complying,” she said.
Port Coquitlam is one of 16 "high-transmission" communities in the province, prompting health workers to open up special clinics offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to individuals between 30 and older.
