Seven children are left fatherless after their dad is locked up in jail for unpaid fines after failing to arrange a payment plan
- Rocky Loo, 41, was randomly checked by ticket inspectors on a train in Perth, WA
- He had outstanding fines of $3,599 at the time and was arrested and jailed
- Mr Loo has seven children as young as six months with his ex Marianne Mackay
- Ms Mackay only found out he was in jailed in a phone call from Hakea Prison
- Under WA law, people can be jailed for failing to make a payment arrangement
Seven children aged six months to 19 years old were left fatherless after their dad was locked up for unpaid fines.
Father-of-seven Rocky Loo, 41, had outstanding fines of $3,599 when he was randomly checked by ticket inspectors on a train in Perth, WA last week.
Mr Loo has extreme anxiety and failed to attend a work order to pay off his fines, resulting in him being arrested and jailed in Hakea Prison, according to the SBS.
If a person fails to pay off their fines in WA, they can be jailed with a $250-a-day rate to pay off their debt – which means Mr Loo could have faced more than two weeks of imprisonment.
Father-of-seven Rocky Loo, 41, had outstanding fines of $3,599 when he was randomly checked by ticket inspectors on a train in Perth, WA last week
Mr Loo’s ex-partner and mother to his seven children Marianne Mackay only found out he had been jailed in a phone call from Hakea Prison on Friday last week.
Ms Mackay said it was difficult to look after all seven children without Mr Loo around.
‘It’s gonna affect us financially as well as emotionally and physically,’ she told the SBS.
One of Ms Mackay’s sons has his hip bone pushed back due to a born breech caesarean procedure during his birth.
On Tuesday, Ms Mackay had to get the son to hospital while also taking the other six children to school and making her car registration payment without Mr Loo’s help.
Mr Loo with his ex-partner and mother to his seven children Marianne Mackay. Ms Mackay said it was difficult to look after all seven children without Mr Loo around
‘The McGowan government made a commitment not to lock anyone up for fines anymore,’ Ms Mackay said.
Arrest warrants can be issued for people who fail to pay their debts under the Fines, Penalties and Infringement Notices Enforcement Act 1994 (WA).
WA Attorney General John Quigley introduced reforms to the act in September last year but they have still not been passed into law.
Under the 1994 act, Mr Loo could have spent 14 days in Hakea Prison but served five days in the end.
Ms Mackay (pictured) said the state government ‘made a commitment not to lock anyone up for fines anymore