"If You Don't Wear a Mask, You'll Lie in a Coffin"... Jakarta's COVID-19 'Shock Therapy'

Penalties such as fines, community service, and push-ups for not wearing masks
Mask-wearing promotion through 'shock therapy' with 'Ip-gwan' penalties
Indonesia treats mild COVID-19 cases with self-quarantine

A man in Jakarta, Indonesia, is lying down inside a coffin to perform a penalty for not wearing a mask.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the Jakarta government in Indonesia has imposed a penalty requiring people not wearing masks to lie down inside a coffin.

According to Tribune News on the 3rd, public order officers in East Jakarta have been cracking down on maskless individuals in the Pasar Rebo district for two days starting yesterday, giving them the choice to perform community service or lie inside a coffin for five minutes.

If caught walking around in public places in Jakarta without wearing a mask, individuals face a fine of 250,000 rupiah (about 20,000 Korean won), 60 minutes of community service, or penalties such as push-ups and squat jumps.

The Jakarta local government, seeing that people still do not wear masks despite these penalties, introduced the "coffin" penalty as a "shock therapy."

To raise awareness about COVID-19, the Jakarta government recently displayed empty coffins at intersections and held parades carrying coffins throughout the city.

A citizen caught without a mask said, "I chose the coffin penalty because I don't have money to pay the fine and want to reduce the time spent on community service due to work," adding, "I hope the photos and videos of me lying in the coffin serve as a lesson to others."

Meanwhile, Indonesia records 2,000 to 3,000 new daily COVID-19 cases. Especially after the Islamic New Year holiday (20th?23rd), the number of new cases in Jakarta alone has increased by about 1,000 per day.

The Indonesian government treats asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic confirmed cases with self-quarantine without hospitalization due to concerns about hospital bed shortages.

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