Couples celebrating Valentine’s Day were detained by local Police in numerous cities across Indonesia on Wednesday, February 14, as reported by The Straits Times.
Authorities in the country’s second-biggest city Surabaya conducted a raid and briefly detained about two dozen couples who were caught celebrating the well-known holiday. They are expected to be released with a reprimand.
Other cities issued with a Valentine’s Day ban include Mataram on the island of Lombok, where police were ordered to raid schools in the hunt for passionate students unable to keep their hands off each other. However, romantic parties at hotels and restaurants were left alone.
Makassar on the island of Sulawesi also prohibited celebrations. It has been doing so for the last several years. The city’s deputy mayor, Syamsu Rizal, stated, “It has never been declared by the government to be a celebration in the country. The ban would prevent hanky-panky among students.”
On Valentine’s Day 2017, police in Makassar raided convenience stores and seized condoms in a bid to stop teenagers from having sex.
So far, at least 10 cities across Indonesia have issued full or partial bans for Valentine’s Day celebrations.
The prohibitions come amid concerns that Indonesia is now pushing to make premarital and gay sex illegal and punishable with jail time.