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Indonesians Who Don't Wear Masks May Face Unusual Penalties

Sasmito Madrim

   JAKARTA, INDONESIA - An Indonesian human rights group is monitoring
   what it describes as "degrading" punishments handed out to people who
   fail to comply with mandated anti-coronavirus social restrictions and
   mask wearing.

   The punishments are unusual, such as forcing violators to spend time in
   an open coffin or dig graves, according to rights group Commission for
   Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (KontraS).

   The group has recorded 10 cases of degrading punishments since
   stay-at-home orders were issued in April for several regions of
   Indonesia. The nation has the highest coronavirus death toll in
   Southeast Asia, with more than 10,300 deaths as of Saturday, according
   to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center. Indonesia
   had more than 271,000 confirmed cases as of Saturday. In 2019,
   Indonesia had a population of 270.6 million, according to the World
   Bank.

   Rivanlee Anandar, a KontraS staff member, told VOA Indonesia that the
   "degrading" punishments imposed by authorities in several regions
   included forcing violators to lie next to a coffin. National police
   officers, the staffer said, were used as well as members of the
   Indonesian National Military (TNI) to oversee the punishments.

   Rivanlee said the group objected to the use of TNI members to control
   COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. He added that the
   military "should focus on national defense. '¦ There [are] no
   indicators or instruments to measure the effectiveness of involving the
   military in handling the pandemic."

   "Their role in picking up people who have tested positive [for]
   COVID-19 is too much. In several malls, they even take people's
   temperature," Rivanlee added.

   Clean sewers or pay fine

   Evani Jesselyn, who owns a coffee shop in Jakarta, was told she could
   clean public sewers or pay a fine after she was pulled over for not
   wearing a mask in her car during her regular commute.

   At the time, "I was alone, in the car, wearing my mask. However,
   suddenly I felt it was a bit hard to breathe, so I pulled my mask a bit
   to breathe some fresh air," she said.

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