Police Arrest 4 Suspected of Spreading Hoaxes of Coronavirus
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30 March 2020 21:45 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Metro Police arrested four people suspected of spreading hoaxes about the new coronavirus that causes the Covid-19. The suspects were arrested in different areas.
"They started this to make jokes, and now they end with criminal charges," Jakarta Metro Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Yusri Yunus said on Monday, March 30, 2020.
Yusri said the police are also investigating if the suspects had any other motivation for disseminating false information about the pandemic. He hopes that the arrest of these four people serves as a lesson to the public; to filter information before sharing.
Among the hoaxes spread by the suspects are the lockdown in Kalimalang Road, Cipinang Melayu, a lie that the toll road to Jakarta had been blocked, a video of a supposed Covid-19 victim at PGC Cempaka Mas, and a video about how the virus is spreading in Soekarno-Hatta Airport.
The suspects are now facing up to six years in prison.
Earlier, the police headquarters recorded 46 cases related to the spread of false information about Covid-19. Forty-three of those are being investigated by the Jakarta Metro Police. So far, only four cases have been solved.
M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH
