Eight people in Indonesia were ordered to dig graves for people who have passed away due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a punishment for not wearing face masks, The Jakarta Post reported.
Suyona, the district head of Cerme in Java, Indonesia, said he issued the directive for them to excavate graves at a public cemetery in Ngabetan village in Cerme to teach the violators a lesson for not adhering to the country’s safety precautions.
“There are only three available gravediggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work with them,” he told tribunnews.com.
He added that he assigned two per grave—one to dig, and one to lay wooden boards inside the hole to support the corpse.
“Hopefully this can create a deterrent effect against violations,” he added.
He added that the number of COVID-19 cases in their area is increasing, a reason they have decided to strengthen their rules regarding safety measures. Under their law, violators will be subject to fines or community service.
