Bali Authorities Punish Foreigners Who Don’t Wear Face Masks By Making Them Do Push Ups

By Ammar Haziq  •  21 Jan 2021 in News

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In the Indonesian resort island of Bali, foreigners who get caught for not wearing face masks deal with an unusual punishment–doing push-ups, just like we did in school when we forgot to bring our sports attire.

Recently, a video went viral on social media showing tourists in t-shirts and shorts being made to do the exercise while masked guards stood and watch them.

Like other parts of the world, Bali authorities have made it mandatory for people to wear a face mask in public given that Indonesia battled a surge of COVID-19 outbreaks.

While it is a standard operating procedure, recently, a number of tourists have been caught without it, says security official Gusti Agung Ketut Suryanegara.

More than 70 people paid a fine of 100,000 Rupiah (RM29) but 30 others said they did not have cash on them so instead, they had to burn calories with some push-ups. Those who did not have a face mask with them had to do up to 50, while those who wore it improperly had to give 15 push-ups.

“At first, they would claim that they didn’t know the regulation,” Suryanegara told AFP. “Then they said they forgot, or that the mask was wet or damaged.”

Like other previous bizarre punishments, some Indonesians on the island have also been given the unusual physical punishment. Apart from that, a report said that the island’s governor, Wayan Koster said that those without masks will also be denied entry to restaurants and tourists spots.

“They will be denied service if they don’t use masks. That’s what we have decided, so there will be more order, because there are still many violations committed by foreign tourists,” he said.

Bali authorities have also warned that foreigners who break the regulations could be thrown out of the country, although as of now, there have been no reports of anyone being deported for not wearing a face mask.

50 push-ups still sounds better than RM1,000 though…