Police in Penjaringan, North Jakarta are investigating a man who claimed on social media that he took his family to dine out in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) despite all of them testing positive for COVID-19.
Screenshots of a chat between the man and his friend on Instagram have circulated widely over the weekend. In the chat, the friend confronts the man after he posted a video that depicted him dining at a restaurant.
“What is your heart made of? … If you come into contact with people with weak immune systems and they die, won’t you feel guilt?” the friend derided the man in the chat.
The man claimed he took out his entire family, including his wife, child, and his father, who has a heart condition, for the meal. Responding to his friend’s outrage, he told her she “wouldn’t understand” unless she had COVID-19 herself.
In subsequent posts, the woman outed the man’s identity and shared his photo, and said that he was self-isolating at a hotel in PIK and had been out and about in the area. She urged her friends to remain cautious if they come across the man in PIK.
After their interaction went hugely viral, both parties went off the social media grid. The man, however, managed to clarify with Detik that he was just joking around with his friend.
“I was actually just chatting with her, an old friend from high school. Out of nowhere she posted [our chat]. If I were malicious I could sue her under UU ITE (Information and Electronic Transactions Act),” he said.
“I’m sorry, but I tested negative … I haven’t been roaming around. Had I tested positive I wouldn’t have been roaming around, either.”
Police say the viral incident is being looked at but have not offered any official statements as of this morning.
