Haja Timbo was identified as the third person who left Melbourne via Sydney.Photo / Supplied
Haja Timbo was identified as the third person who left Melbourne via Sydney.Photo / Supplied
The father of one of the Queensland women accused of lying on their border declaration passes to avoid quarantine has rushed to the defence of his daughter.
Haja Timbo, 21, was released this afternoon after spending 14 days in quarantine at the Rydges Hotel on Brisbane's South Bank.
Timbo testednegative to coronavirus however her travel companions Olivia Muranga, 19, and Diana Lasu, 21, were both hospitalised with the virus.
All three are due to face Brisbane Magistrates Court in September after being charged with fraud and providing false or misleading documents in breach of public health directions.
They've all also been hit with $4000 fines after their trip from Melbourne on July 21.
"Let's say she made a mistake ... Is that why the media, and everybody, is intimidating her?
"You are intimidating her ... You are intimidating us. I won't take it.
"I've told you, she's not in the mood. You have to respect her."
When one of the reporters suggested the three women "didn't respect the people of Queensland when they came back here" Mr Timbo hit back.
Haja Timbo (L) and her father outside their Brisbane home. Photo / 7 News
"That is your judgment. It is wrong but you have to respect our opinion as well. You are saying your opinion, I respect that, you respect our opinion," Mr Timbo said.
Ms Muranga and Ms Lasu remain in Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Late last month, Ms Muranga's brother Eddie told A Current Affair his sister had struggled for days with coronavirus after arriving home from Victoria on July 21.
"You need to think about this … think about my sister … she couldn't even breathe, some days she couldn't even breathe out of her airways," he said.
Eddie said his sister and Ms Lasu hadn't spread coronavirus deliberately.
"It's not something that we sat down and thought about yeah, it's a f**king mistake," he said.
A man sparked further fears in Queensland today after he allegedly escaped from his hotel quarantine in Toowoomba. The man turned himself in this afternoon.
He had previously tested negative for COVID-19 however will be tested again to ensure he has not spread the virus.
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski told reporters an internal police investigation had been launched to understand how the man had escaped.
"We want to know what's happened and if there's anything we can fix, we'll be fixing that immediately," he said.
