P.R. Laws tit. 25, § 172r
Any person who commits any of the following acts shall be punished by a term of imprisonment not to exceed six (6) months or by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both penalties at the discretion of the court:
(a) Violating any provision of this subchapter or any regulation drafted or order issued thereunder.
(b) Raising a false alarm with respect to the imminent occurrence of a catastrophe in Puerto Rico, or spreading rumors or raising a false alarm regarding nonexisting abnormalities under a state of emergency or disaster.
(c) Failing to observe civilian population evacuation orders issued by the Commonwealth Agency as part of the enforcement of its plan in cases of emergency or disaster. It is hereby provided that minors or disabled persons may be removed against the will of their parents, guardians, custodians or tutors during a state of emergency and once the Governor has declared such a state of emergency. For the purposes of this subchapter, a “disabled person” is an individual with a mental disability that seriously impairs his capacity to act on his own.
(d) Hindering the evacuation, search, reconstruction or assessment and investigation of damages conducted by federal, Commonwealth or municipal agencies, endangering his life or the lives of other persons, or persisting in carrying out any activity, including those of a recreational nature that endanger his life or the lives of other persons, after having been alerted by the authorities once a hurricane watch has been issued by the pertinent authorities or while a state of emergency declared by the Governor of Puerto Rico through an Executive Order is in effect.
(e) The monies collected on account of the fines imposed by virtue of this chapter or the regulations adopted thereunder shall be covered into the Special Fund under the responsibility of the Director of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Agency. The money covered into the Special Fund may be used to defray in part the operating, fiscal, and administrative expenses of the Agency, in addition to the annual budget appropriations that the entity shall continue to receive.
The court may impose community service as an alternate penalty.
History —Aug. 2, 1999, No. 211, § 20; May 8, 2008, No. 53, § 1; Sept. 29, 2012, No. 289, § 2.