By RANDI BASRI
Associated Press
TERNATE, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian man with the coronavirus has boarded a domestic flight disguised as his wife, wearing a niqab covering his face and carrying fake IDs and a negative PCR test result.
But the cover didn’t last long.
Police say a flight attendant aboard a Citilink plane traveling from Jakarta to Ternate in North Maluku province on July 18 noticed the man changing clothes in the lavatory.
“He bought the plane ticket with his wife’s name and brought the identity card, the PCR test result and the vaccination card with his wife’s name. All documents are under his wife’s name,” Ternate police chief Aditya Laksimada said after arresting the man upon landing. He was only identified by his initials.
Police took him for a COVID-19 test, which came back positive.
The man is currently self-isolating at home and police said the investigation will continue.
Indonesia is in the grip of a coronavirus surge with a total number of reported cases at 2.9 million and 77,583 fatalities.
Restrictions on nonessential travel, including a mandatory negative coronavirus test, and public gatherings were toughened over the Eid al-Adha holiday.