Govt to ban giving money to street beggars

The Bali administration plans to draft a bylaw that would criminalize giving money or food to street beggars. A similar bylaw has been implemented by the Jakarta administration.

“The bylaw will impose legal sanctions on both the street beggars and individuals who give them spare change or food,” the province’s social welfare agency head I Ketut Susrama said.

However, he did not reveal what the sanctions would be.

“The bylaw draft is still in its early stages and we are still discussing the various aspects and implications of this new law. Hopefully, we can speed up the process and submit the draft to the councilors,” he said.

Violations of a bylaw are typically treated as misdemeanor rather than felony and do not usually result in a prison sentence. — JP