HONOLULU (KHON) — Two Hawaii tourists were arrested for falsifying their vaccine cards to bypass COVID-19 screening procedures.
Norbert Chung, 57, and his son Trevor Chung, 19, were both arrested on Sunday, Aug. 8, at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
The Hawaii Attorney General’s office is not revealing much about the case against the pair, including a possible reason for the fake COVID-19 vaccination cards.
They did credit the arrests to a tip from members of the community.
“Prior to Sunday, there were many, many hours put into the investigation that culminated on Sunday and where we are even today,” said Arthur Logan, special agent of criminal investigations for the Department of Attorney General.
The Chungs’ attorney said after the pair was arrested, they flew back to California, were tested for COVID-19, tested negative and then flew back to Oahu where they are now going through the court system.
“To come to Hawaii and spend thousands of dollars on a trip and hotel and airfare and the money you’re going to spend to enjoy paradise, you’re going to risk that and spend even more money, because you put yourself, your family and others in jeopardy by trying to falsify documents to come and enjoy paradise,” said Logan.
Falsifying a vaccination statute comes with a fine of up to $5,000 and/or a year in prison. It is also illegal to sell or buy vaccine cards.
Since the quarantine and Safe Travels rules came into play in 2020, the Hawaii Attorney General’s office has created a task force to help catch those who break the law.
“Part of that task force, our job is to investigate community complaints that come in about what’s going on with visitors that may or may not be cooperating,” Logan said.
For investigators, however, this case is a first.
“There are multiple investigations that we have and are continuing to do. This is the first one that culminated in the arrests such as we have, but that’s not to say there are more to follow,” Logan stated.