That statement is true
On most cases, the punishment given to the defendant would be equal to the damages that the defendant caused to the victim.
In some circumstances, on the other hand, the court might punish the defendant with punitive damage. This will make the defendant receive harsher punishment that exceeds the damage that the defendant caused to the victim.
usually, punitive damages only given to dangerous violation in order to set up an example for other citizens to avoid that same violation.
