About half the population here in Singapore might get PTSD flashbacks just from hearing the word “push-ups”.
Especially if someone forced you to do them.
True story: I wanted to keep myself fit during the COVID period by doing static exercises, but whenever I tried doing push-ups, bad memories would flashback and I have to stop doing them.
Reader: Pretty sure you’re just lazy.
No such thing. NS is a traumatising experience.
People in at least one village in Bali experienced first hand the traumatising “knock it down” punishment for one of the worse crimes in humanity: not wearing masks.
Wearing masks had been mandatory while in public in Indonesia since the new rule on 5 April 2020, but it seems that local enforcement is quite varied.
Photos showing pecalang (Balinese security forces) dishing out the punishment to motorbike drivers have been circulating around social media, according to Coconuts Bali.
They were later provided masks and told of the requirement to wear masks.
Just to be clear: this punishment is in at least one traditional village in Bali, Intaran. Their mandatory mask policy, which has an actual punishment, is set to be officially enforced starting 1 May.
In other words, the push-ups were just to spread awareness of the rules.
Traffic police had been urging people to wear masks when outside, as demonstrated in videos uploaded to Instagram by the Bali Police Traffic Directorate:
The real punishment? A fine equivalent to five kilograms of rice and commit to community work. One kilogram of rice is around IDR15K, or about S$1.50. (I know it doesn’t sound a lot for Singapore.)
Those without masks will not be allowed to enter the village, according to Intaran village chief I Gusti Agung Alit Kencana.
Follow us on Telegram for more informative & easy-to-read articles, or download the Goody Feed app for articles you can’t find on Facebook!
Local sellers are also expected to follow the rule, but for them, this results in an arguably worse punishment – temporary closure of their stalls or shops.
“We will not allow [violators] to do trade activity. Stalls, shops, or wherever they do business will be sealed,” Alit told Indonesian news outlet Tribun regarding the mask rule.
Doggos have also been spotted with masks on in Bali, but we can’t confirm if they were subjected to the same “knock it down” punishments.