Procedure on arrest and charge of persons entering or exiting Belize illegally

(1) The following procedures shall be followed on the arrest and charge of a person who enters or exists Belize in contravention of regulation 30– (a) upon arrest and charge, the person shall immediately be submitted to the Ministry responsible for health for testing, as may be required; (b) after testing, the person arrested and charged shall be taken to court to be arraigned; and (c) after arraignment, the person shall be quarantined for the period directed by the Quarantine Authority, whether or not that person has been granted bail. (2) If a person who has been arrested cannot immediately be charged, or if charged, cannot immediately be taken to court after being tested by the Ministry responsible for health, that person shall38 (a) be isolated in a cell at the police station in the judicial district where the offence was committed; and (b) be brought before the court at its earliest sitting. (3) After the completion of the period of quarantine directed by the Quarantine Authority, a person arraigned shall be– (a) released pending trial if that person was granted bail; or (b) remanded pending trial if that person was not granted bail. (4) Notwithstanding the pronouncement by the magistrate of the guilt or innocence of a person arrested and charged, that person shall serve the period of mandatory quarantine prior to being committed to prison or released, as the case may be. (5) Where a person charged under regulation 32 is found guilty of the offence, that person shall serve the term of imprisonment as directed by the magistrate after completing the period of mandatory quarantine directed by the Quarantine Authority.