Indonesia authorities ordered eight people who broke the country’s face mask law to dig the graves for the victims of COVID-19, according to the Jakarta Post.
East Java officials punished the anti-maskers as a way to help stop others from disobeying the country’s law.
The law requires those who violate protocols within the country to receive fines or community service as a form of punishment, the Jakarta Post reports.
- “There are only three available gravediggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work with them,” politician Suyono said, according to the Jakarta Post.
- “Hopefully this can create a deterrent effect against violations.”
The anti-maskers were not asked to deal with the victims specifically — only to dig the graves, the New York Post reports.
- Health officials with full body equipment handled the deceased victims.
Indonesia has been known to act tough on policy violators when it comes to COVID-19. According to Newsweek, the country punished quarantine violators by locking the up in abandoned houses that were believed to be ... haunted.