Jakarta – A joint team comprising the National Police, Indonesian Military (TNI) and local stakeholders have netted hundreds of thousands of health protocol violators through Operasi Yustisi.
The operation, aimed at monitoring and disciplining the public in relation to health protocols, was carried out on Monday in several regions.
National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Awi Setiyono said Monday that on the first day of the operation, authorities found 47,752 health protocol violators and on Tuesday 128,668.
"On Monday we carried out 53,975 inspections at 2,318 locations, while on Tuesday we conducted 80,615 inspections at 5,063 locations," Awi said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com.
Authorities had given 95,595 verbal warnings and issued 5,772 letters reprimanding the violators during the operations. As many as 2,096 violators also received social work punishment from the team.
The joint team also fined 1,421 people, collecting Rp 79.21 million in two days.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Com. Yusri Yunus said officials also temporarily shut down 23 restaurants in Jakarta for providing dine-in services amid the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) imposed by the city administration.
"The Jakarta Public Order Agency [Satpol PP] sealed off 23 restaurants on the first day of Operasi Yustisi for violating regulations," Yusri said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Semarang administration punished violators by asking them to pick up trash, sing the national anthem and do push-ups. Some violators were also asked to write statements and had their ID cards confiscated for a week.
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, who took part in the operation, said officials also conducted COVID-19 rapid tests on violators.
"We not only imposed social punishment on violators but they were also required to take rapid tests. The purpose of the operation is not to give harsh punishments but to educate the public on health protocols," Ganjar said on Wednesday as quoted by tempo.co.
Awi said punishments for health protocol violators netted through the operation were regulated by each regional administration, so they would vary from one region to another.
However, recurrent violators could face criminal charges, he added. (nal)