Ulma Haryanto – Prisoners with money live like royalty in Indonesian prisons, enjoying just about anything their hearts desire.
It could be treats as small as a bag of methamphetamine, or an air-conditioned cell decorated according to the occupant's wishes and furnished with an exercise machine – or a guest to warm your bed. "What was found from the surprise inspections was not really a surprise. Nobody gets sanctioned for this," Patra M Zen, chairman of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, told the Jakarta Globe on Monday.
Patra was referring to Justice Ministry officials' surprise inspection on Sunday of the Pondok Bambu Penitentiary in East Jakarta. The inspection was part of the ministry's plan to revamp the country's penitentiaries. "It's hilarious when you see cells designed to look like hotel rooms," Patra said.
Local media reports have long since pointed out the luxuries afforded by the privileged in prison. They have included the air-conditioned "cell" of Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, the crony of the late strongman Suharto, at Nusa Kambangan prison in Central Java, and the room tastefully furnished for Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, Suharto's youngest son and the convicted murderer of Supreme Court Justice Syafiuddin Kartasasmita.
Several print media outlets have reported that a helicopter was made available for Bob Hasan during his time in jail, while renovations to Tommy's quarters at Cipinang Penitentiary cost anywhere from Rp 50 million ($5,450) to Rp 75 million.
According to some media reports, Tommy enjoyed long conjugal visits in his private quarters. Meanwhile, regular inmates must wait for normal visiting hours, when they can pay off a guard to get intimate in the toilet.
Tommy's business associate, corruption convict Ricardo Gelael, received similar privileges in his cell, and extra visiting hours. During his time in prison, he was rumored to have conducted several business meetings there. Former Riau Governor Huzrin Hood had his own bodyguard.
Convicted Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby was reported to have been frequently "smuggled out" of prison for dinner visits to one of Kuta's kebab restaurants.
And Brig. Gen. Gorries Mere, a top detective, made international headlines when he escorted convicted Bali bomber Ali Imron to discuss possible terror networks over coffee at Starbucks at Plaza eX in Central Jakarta.
A noted investigative TV journalist, Dhandy Laksono, said that at Cipinang Penitentiary senior inmates were assigned to pool money for bribes.
"Not all prisoners can bribe guards directly. They have to hand it over to senior inmates," Dhandy said. "Amazingly, they do it in rooms with CCTV [surveillance cameras]. So it's impossible that the officers do not know about this.
"The senior inmates will arrange everything, the room, the schedule and payment for guards. In Cipinang you can also rent prostitutes. Tommy Suharto was the one who first brought a spring bed into Nusa Kambangan."
"You can also rent the guard's room for Rp 200,000 an hour if you want to have private meetings," he added.
Dhandy mentioned other "privileged criminals," such as Abdullah Puteh, the former Aceh governor who was sentenced for corruption but reportedly managed to enjoy "outdoor trips" with Hamid Awaluddin, former justice minister.
Of course, some prisoners who made positive contributions in the jails where they served time, Dhandy said, noting that Bob Hasan built a tennis court at Nusa Kambangan.
An ex-Cipinang inmate who chose to remain anonymous acknowledged that he had it pretty good while in prison.
"I was with five or six people. We got our own small kitchen, a rice cooker and a water dispenser," he said. "There was a room next to me with 13 to 15 people. They sold porn DVDs, cigarettes, instant noodles. They never locked my room, nor the VIP room." He also said that there was one room next to theirs for the "errand boy."
"Errand boys clean the rooms, do laundry and cook our meals," he explained.