Coronavirus: six Indonesians arrested for spreading ‘hoaxes’ online as infections rise to 27
- All six suspects are accused of violating laws banning the spread of misinformation, which carries penalties of as much as six years in prison
- Meanwhile, Korean Air Lines has warned outbreak could threaten its survival after more than half the world restricted passengers entering from South Korea
A woman in Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-biggest city, was arrested on Monday for spreading untrue claims via Facebook that a patient was being treated for the virus in the city, police said.
Five others were also detained for spreading false information on social media, including claims that a Muslim woman flying to Saudi Arabia for a religious pilgrimage had died suddenly from the virus at Jakarta’s international airport.
All six suspects are accused of violating laws banning the spread of misinformation, which carries penalties of as much as six years in prison.
“It should serve as a lesson for other people not to spread hoaxes about coronavirus in Indonesia,” senior communications ministry official Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan said.
Last month, two Indonesian women were arrested for allegedly posting virus-linked misinformation in a country with some 130 million people online – among the globe’s biggest internet audiences.