By Tim Binnall
Two people who were caught violating a coronavirus quarantine in an Indonesian village have been forced to live in a haunted house as a result. The strange turn of events reportedly occurred in Central Java, where authorities have expressed concern over residents of nearby cities returning to their native villages in order to avoid lockdown orders. In response, officials requested that such individuals self-isolate for two weeks upon their arrival.
However, when reports surfaced that some people were reticent to honor the request, regent Kusdinar Untung Yuni Sukowati warned that "if need be, they should be locked inside - in a haunted house if necessary." While one might think that the politician was being hyperbolic, it turns out that she was quite serious. Upon discovering that a pair of individuals under quarantine orders had disobeyed the command, she tasked workers with cleaning up a notoriously haunted house so that the two villagers could be imprisoned inside the spooky residence.
"They were locked inside an abandoned haunted house," she explained to a local media outlet, "had they obeyed their order they wouldn't have been locked in there." The previously abandoned residence is located in the middle of a rice field and is considered by villagers in the area to be the home of sinister spirits. It is uncertain how long the two people will be kept inside the haunted house, but officials assured residents that they will be provided food and other necessities over the course of their stay there.