After Ghost Patrols, Indonesia Punishes Quarantine Violators By Locking Them In Haunted Houses

Remember how Kepuh village in Indonesia’s Java Island employed people dressed as ‘pocong’ or shroud ghosts to keep residents indoors? Now, Sragen regency in Central Java has taken the help of superstition once again to punish people who violate self-quarantine.

According to Tribun Jateng, people who have recently travelled back from cities/ other islands, as well as those who are under observation for coronavirus, were asked to self-isolate for 14 days. But when a few broke protocols, they were locked inside an abandoned haunted house situated in the middle of a rice field.

In the absence of a dedicated quarantine facility, Sragen Regent Kusdinar Untung Yuni Sukowati asked officials to clean the haunted house for violators. Suara quoted her saying,

“If they disobey self-isolation [orders], several villages have asked for my permission to quarantine them in an abandoned elementary school or abandoned houses. I gave my permission. If need be, they should be locked inside — in a haunted house if necessary. But we’d still feed them and monitor them.”

Coconuts Jakarta quoted her adding, “Two Plupuh residents agreed to self-isolate but they violated the order. So they were locked inside an abandoned haunted house. Had they obeyed their order they wouldn’t have been locked in there.”

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What do you think about this punishment? Certainly more creative than hefty fines, right?

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