Canberra, Aug 31 (IANS): An Australian man who used a ladder to repeatedly sneak out of his quarantine hotel to see his girlfriend was on Monday sentenced to six months in prison, the media reported

But Yusuf Karakaya will spend only one month in prison after the sentence was suspended, reports the BBC.

Karakaya returned to Perth after a visit to Sydney at the end of July to visit an uncle who was unwell, according to Australian media reports citing court documents.

He was ordered to quarantine for two weeks at the Mercure Hotel in Perth.

But over three days he repeatedly escaped out of his hotel window and met his girlfriend nearby who drove him away.

CCTV showed the car had a ladder on its roof.

At one point hotel staff had removed the ladder from the lane outside, but Karakaya and his friend replaced it with another.

Karakaya was arrested hiding in a bedroom cupboard at his girlfriend's house, and told police it was her birthday and he would have been in trouble if he hadn't see her.