Lockdown Violators in This Region Must Serve Time in ‘Rumah Hantu’ as Punishment

By Ammar Haziq  •  22 Apr 2020 in News

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Getting fed-up with lockdown violators? Well, apparently nobody is as fed-up as one Indonesian politician who has decided to scare violators straight by locking them up in a ‘haunted house’.

Sragen Regency head, Kusdinar Untung Yuni Sukowati, says she issued the unusual official order this week to deal with the rising number of people in the area after lockdowns were implemented in the capital, Jakarta, and other major cities.

Some new residents however weren’t respecting orders to isolate themselves for 14 days to prevent the spread of Coronavirus on Indonesia’s densely populated Java island.

So Sukowati instructed communities to repurpose abandoned houses that were feared to be haunted – tapping into widespread beliefs in the supernatural which plays a key role in Indonesian folklore. As of now, five people have been locked up in Sragen’s spooky jails.

“If there’s an empty and haunted house in the village, put people in there and lock them up,” Sukowati told AFP on Tuesday.

Officials in Sepat village chose a long-abandoned house and outfitted it with beds placed at a distance that were separated by curtains.

So far, the village has locked up three recently-arrived residents who are being forced to spend the remainder of their two-week quarantine in the spooky abode.

Amongst them was Heri Susanto, who said his punishment hadn’t brought him face to face with any ghosts… so far. “But whatever happens, happens. I know it’s for everyone’s safety,” said Susanto who came from the neighbouring Sumatra island.

Zoinks, Scoob! From scaring people off the streets with pocong costumes, to jailing them in haunted houses, we’re glad our government isn’t succumbing to Fear Factor tactics to keep us home. I mean, imagine being locked up in Highland Towers… 😨

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