Jakarta’s Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) has fined McDonald’s Indonesia IDR10 million for its role in allowing a horde of McChompers into and outside its store in Sarinah, Central Jakarta to say goodbye to the historic site.
The agency found that McDonald’s was to blame for the gathering for implicitly inviting people to visit the Sarinah store on its last day on Sunday, thus violating partial lockdown rules under the city’s Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) protocol.
“They announced [the closure] days in advance. On social media they announced the time of the closure, the date. So people came,” Jakarta Satpol PP Head Arifin said yesterday.
Even though the McPatrons technically violated PSBB by visiting the store in large numbers, Arifin said that they will not be sanctioned in this case.
McDonald’s has reportedly paid the fine.
On Sunday evening, many Jakartans went to the restaurant — the first McDonald’s in the country, which opened nearly 30 years ago — to reminisce by taking photos, ordering takeaways, as well as leaving messages on posters provided by the management. While standard measures were reportedly taken, such as the required temperature check and hand sanitizer usage for all visitors, the queue was so long that some had to wait outside the store.
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