The West Java administration is getting tough on health protocol violators with the passing of a new Gubernatorial Regulation (Pergub).
The Pergub, signed by Governor Ridwan Kamil, comes into effect immediately and will remain in force during the pandemic. It contains provisions on fines that are applicable to individuals, businesses, and institutions.
The lowest tier of the sanctions applies to individuals, such as those who don’t wear face masks in public or keep their minimum 1-meter distance from others. A fine of IDR100,000 (US$6.84) is applicable for this category.
Meanwhile, businesses and institutions that don’t provide the appropriate health precaution facilities to the public, or defy temporary closure orders, may be fined up to IDR500,000 or have their permits temporarily revoked.
All fines in the Pergub are given on a three-strike system. Individuals caught violating health protocols may first be given a written warning and/or be required to do community service.
With this Pergub, West Java leads the way in Indonesia in terms of providing legal justification for sanctioning health protocol violators. The province has been mulling sanctions for a while, regardless of whether or not its citizens are under lockdown.
Jakarta previously imposed a fine of up to IDR250K for people who don’t wear a mask under its Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) partial lockdown protocol, but it has yet to introduce a blanket regional regulation to legally justify the sanction for when PSBB is no longer in effect.
