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Bandung sanctions Citylink mall for drawing Imlek crowds amid Omicron surge
Authorities have forcibly closed a major shopping mall in Bandung, West Java, for breaking COVID-19 rules over Chinese New Year.
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No permission: A crowd of hundreds of people on several floors watch a lion dance as part of an unapproved Chinese New Year 2022 event held on Feb. 1 at Mal Festival Citylink in Bandung, West Java. The mall was also fined Rp 500,000 (US$34.76). (YouTube/Alzafran Razka)
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he Bandung municipal administration ordered on Friday that Mal Festival Citylink, a shopping mall on Jl. Peta in the West Java city, be forcibly closed for three days as a consequence of attracting large crowds during an event to mark Chinese New Year, which fell on Feb. 1.
In addition, the mall management was also fined Rp 500,000 (US$34.76). The mall is set to reopen on Feb. 7 as Omicron cases surge across the country.
Mal Festival Citylink came under public scrutiny after a video showing masses of people enjoying a lion dance at the shopping mall went viral. The event was criticized for being held amid the ongoing increase in COVID-19 cases.
It was later discovered that visitor numbers had exceeded the mall’s approved capacity, and that the mall had not obtained permission from local authorities before holding the event.
“Today, we are closing the mall and fining them the maximum Rp 500,000,” Rasdian Setiadi, the head of the Bandung Public Order Agency (SatpolPP), told the press on Friday.
The agency is also now inspecting other shopping centers in Bandung for potential violations of the local COVID-19 restrictions.
Meanwhile, the mall management has issued a public apology over the incident.
“The recent Lion Dance incident is a lesson for us,” Deni Setiawan, the mall’s marketing and communications manager, said as quoted by Kompas TV.
