Up to 80,000 Won Fine for Not Wearing Masks in Jakarta

Introduction of Fine Accumulation System for Non-Wearing... Expansion of Community Service Hours
Fines Accumulate Each Time Detected

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Jakarta Correspondent Sujin Choi] The city of Jakarta, Indonesia, will impose a fine of up to 1 million rupiah (approximately 81,000 KRW) for not wearing a mask in public places within the city. The number of community service hours will also increase with repeated violations.

According to local media such as The Jakarta Post on the 1st, the Jakarta City Public Order Agency (Stapol) announced that it will strengthen enforcement regulations to ensure that metropolitan residents properly comply with mask-wearing. Cooperation from the police and military has also been requested. Stapol staff plan to record personal information such as names and addresses of citizens not wearing masks to create a database.

The implementation of fines for not wearing masks is due to the fact that the COVID-19 situation shows no signs of easing, especially in the metropolitan area. According to the National Center for Infectious Diseases, Jakarta has recently reported 600 to 700 new confirmed cases daily, and Indonesia as a whole is seeing an average of about 1,000 new cases per day. As of the end of August, the total number of confirmed cases is over 32,000.

In particular, since June?two months after social activity restrictions were imposed in April and then lifted to resume economic activities?citizens not wearing masks have gradually become more noticeable.

President Joko Widodo emphasized in this regard, "There are still many citizens who lack awareness about the epidemic," and stressed, "We must focus on hygiene education." Accordingly, continuous education is being provided to citizens using traditional markets, terminals, train stations, public air facilities, outdoor spaces, orphanages, and through nationwide mask-wearing campaigns.

The mask fine system is cumulative. For the first violation, the fine is 250,000 rupiah (about 20,000 KRW), but for the second violation, the fine increases to 500,000 rupiah or 120 minutes of community service must be completed. The third violation results in a fine of 750,000 rupiah or 180 minutes of community service, and the fourth violation requires a fine of 1 million rupiah or 240 minutes of community service.

Previously, during the large-scale social restrictions period, Jakarta imposed fines ranging from 100,000 to 150,000 rupiah per violation on citizens who violated quarantine and personal hygiene rules, regardless of the number of offenses, along with recording their personal information. The total fines collected through this measure amounted to 2.5 billion rupiah (approximately 200 million KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.