Bandung Municipal Police head Rasdian Setiadi remarked that after the mall was confirmed to have breached the Bandung mayor's regulation on public activities restriction (PPKM) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the authority suspended the mall's operations for three days until Sunday (Feb 6).
"The mall will remain closed until February 6, and we will allow the shopping mall to reopen after the mall operator pays the fine of Rp500 thousand (US$35)," Setiadi stated in Bandung, West Java, on Friday.
In line with the government regulations, malls, with a visitor capacity of one thousand people, must operate by capping the number of visitors to 500, he noted.
The municipal police head affirmed that a lion dance performance hosted by the Festival Citylink shopping mall last Tuesday drew large crowds, with over 500 people thronging the mall's atrium.
Apart from violating operational regulation, the mall operator had also failed to apply for the activity permit to the municipal police and the local COVID-19 task force, he added.
Meanwhile, Bandung City Trade and Industry Office Head Elly Wasliah noted that the mall had violated COVID-19 directives after allowing massive congregation of people to occur during the lion dance performance.
"As the one who oversees shopping mall activities (in the city), I am shocked and saddened, as our two years of struggle (to contain the pandemic) went in waste just because one party violated the regulation," Wasliah remarked.
Despite the mall's operations being suspended, a supermarket located within the mall is still allowed to function as the premise provided items to meet the basic needs of residents, she affirmed.
The office head confirmed that the authority had informed other shopping mall operators in the city about the situation and warned the malls against violating COVID-19 regulations.
"We will continue to monitor the activities of shopping malls (in the city), and we have also instructed mall operators to inform us about any events that the mall will host," Wasliah noted.
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Translator: Bagus Ahmad R, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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