HANOI, March 30 (Reuters) - A court in Vietnam handed a two-year suspended jail term to a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant on Tuesday (Mar 30) after finding him guilty of breaking COVID-19 quarantine rules and spreading the virus to others, police said.

After a one-day trial at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City, Duong Tan Hau, 29, was convicted of "spreading dangerous infectious diseases", Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

Hau breached the country's 14-day quarantine regulations and met 46 other people following his flight from Japan in November, according to the indictment posted on a police ministry website.

Hau had mingled with other people during a stint in state quarantine and visited cafes, restaurants and attended English classes while he was supposed to be self-isolating, the indictment said. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov 28.

Hau's violations resulted in the quarantine and testing of about 2,000 other people in the city at a cost of 4.48 billion dong (US$194,192), the indictment said.

State media said he had infected at least three other people.

"Hau's violation was serious, put society in danger and endangered the safety of the community," the statement said. Reuters could not immediately reach his lawyer for comment.

Vietnam has been praised for its efforts to contain COVID-19 through mass testing and tracing and strict centralised quarantining. It has recorded fewer than 2,600 COVID-19 infections and 35 deaths due to the disease.