Parking attendant in Indonesia wears coconut 'mask' at work, gets punished with push-ups

After getting scolded for re-using dirty masks, a man tried to create a mask out of one of the most popular local fruits. 

On Sept 2, Nengah Budiasa, 44, was caught by authorities for wearing half a coconut shell as a mask in Bali, Indonesia, Kompas reported.

The parking attendant even customised the 'mask' to suit his needs at work.

"It's hard to wear a medical mask, I have to use a whistle for traffic, it gets dirty quickly, and people continue to protest a lot [because it's dirty]." 

Wearing his own creation, he said: "I feel more comfortable, I can speak more clearly."

To avoid the hassle of removing his mask, he fitted a whistle into a hole in the middle of the 'mask'. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TECQayinDU[/embed]

Budiasa wore his improvised mask for four days, attracting attention from local residents as well as municipal police officers.

They told him that his 'mask' did not meet the standard requirements for protection against Covid-19, educated him on health protocols and provided him medical masks for use while at work.

But not before punishing him with some push-ups, as authorities in Indonesia are wont to do to those breaking coronavirus rules.

“He didn’t intend to violate the rules, but the mask he’s been using is improper because it’s not what the government recommends. So we have helped him out by giving him the [right] masks,” the local police told Kompas. 

In case you're curious about other strange face masks that have appeared since the pandemic came about, check out these whacky ideas that AsiaOne has found. 

We can't guarantee these will make it past the safe distancing ambassadors (SDA) though. 

ALSO READ: Knock it down: Tourists in Bali punished with push-ups when caught not wearing masks

claudiatan@asiaone.com