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In the middle of the sidewalk a man kneels and spreads his hands on the pebble-covered ground. Then he does push-ups under the watchful eyes of several policemen. His offense: In Corona times, he was riding his motorcycle on the island of Sulawesi without a mask and – unluckily for him – had passed a security checkpoint.
The punishment followed on foot – because in Indonesia humiliating gymnastic exercises in public are the means of choice in the fight against Corona rule breakers. But in the world’s largest island state, other variants of “public shaming” are also used to enforce the corona rules: the public singing of the national anthem, for example, the forced participation in funerals of Covid 19 victims (as happened in Tuban on Java) and the cleaning of public spaces in a bright orange vest with the inscription “Violator of the Health Protocol”.
Anyone who now thinks that push-ups in front of everyone or cleaning crews are a harsh punishment for a missing mask is taught a lesson in other countries. In the West African country of Ghana, citizens face between four and ten years in prison or up to 60,000 Cedi (8,800 euros) in fines if they are caught without covering their mouths and noses. President Nana Akufo-Addo passed a law to this effect in June.
On the Thai island of Koh Chang, a Swiss man and his local wife were sentenced to two months in prison for eating soup in front of their house in April and for forgetting the time. When the police arrived, it was 10.20 pm. The problem was that there was a curfew from 10 p.m. on, which has since been lifted. The two are on bail and appealed – but the possible time in prison hangs over them.
In Malaysia, a restaurant owner even has to spend five months behind bars. The man should have been in self-isolation because of corona symptoms, but he still kept his restaurant open. “As a result, several villages in the states of Kedah and Perlis had to be put under lockdown,” said Ismail Sabri Yaakob, minister for national security, angrily. At least 40 cases of infection were confirmed in connection with the quarantine violation.
“Häfn” also existed for a 40-year-old man in Singapore, which is known for its draconian punishments. His offense: The taxi driver had written in a Facebook group in April that because of the lockdown, shops would close and supermarkets would only open two days a week. Although he deleted the posting after only 15 minutes, a court ruled that he had caused people to buy in panic. The result: four months in prison for spreading false information.
In India, the police beat maskless passers-by, street vendors and rickshaw drivers with truncheons at the beginning of the pandemic. Other rule breakers had to do squats or were frightened by officials wearing helmets in the form of corona virus. Tourists had to write 500 times because of a walk: “I did not observe the curfew, and I am very sorry about that.”
While the authorities in Europe can do without weird punitive measures or public humiliation, calls for tougher action are growing louder. The British Government recently increased the fine for Corona offences: Anyone who repeatedly violates the obligation to wear a face cover in shops or other enclosed spaces must now pay up to £3,200 (around 3,500 euros) – twice as much as before. Organizers of illegal parties will even have to face fines of up to 11,000 euros.
- Hector Pascua with reports from news agencies Pictures: stockilyapp.com
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