Jakarta – In a corrupt correctional system, nothing comes for free. The Cipinang Penitentiary complex, home to more than two thousand inmates, offers amenities spanning from first-class luxury to ceaseless torment.
Almira (not her real name), went to Cipinang recently to visit her boyfriend who is serving a five-year sentence. She told The Jakarta Post about her boyfriend account of the inmates' conditions, which were dependant on how much money the inmates were willing to pay for basic necessities.
According Almira, her boyfriend said prisoners got a space of two floor tiles to sleep on in a sitting position if they paid Rp 15,000 (US$1.70) per week. Inmates who could not afford that slept standing up or in the sewer.
Almira's boyfriend, Rangga (not his real name), who was convicted of Marijuana possession, confirmed Almira's report.
"This is prison. Everything has to be paid for with money," Rangga said. "Food, drinks, even the space to sleep [inside the cells] is determined by how much [money] you are willing to pay."
Rangga said Cipinang guards earned money by providing various services to the inmates, ranging from radios and televisions to communications devices to connect them with the outside.
In addition to fleecing inmates for cash, the prison allegedly earns money from visitors as well.
Despite a huge banner saying "no pungli" (illegal levies) greeting visitors at the front gate, Almira said that after meeting inmates visitors were told to give Rp 100,000 to the inmates who would then give it to the prison guards on the way back to his cell.
"If I don't give the money [to my boyfriend], then he will be beaten by the prison guards," she said. Few were surprised to learn that graft convict Gayus H. Tambunan smuggled S$600,000 ($444,000) to his prison cell.
Authorities said Gayus owed the money to another inmate, Ahmad Muntaha, because the Ahmad had promised to multiply the amount quickly.
The Post observed inside Cipinang prison last week that visitors indeed passed money to inmates at the end of visitation sessions.
Although the visitors and the inmates were separated by thick glass and could only talk through communication holes, the money was passed after the sessions as guards allowed the visitors and inmates to meet face to face for a few minutes.
The 1995 Law on Correctional Systems says inmates have the right to be visited by family members and legal teams. The law also guarantees that the government will provide for inmates' basic needs such as food, clothes and medical attention while in prison.
The Society of Justice Observation (MaPPI) reported that in 2010 illegal visitor fees to Cipinang prison alone reached Rp 4.8 billion a year, while the profits from providing food, clothes and communications devices reached Rp 1.68 billion a year.
The report also says that Cipinang earned "revenue" by charging the inmates for food, accounting for Rp 10.8 billion a year.
"What happens is that the inmates are treated like nothing more than commodities," said Hendra Setiawan, head of monitoring and investigating at the MaPPI. "If the inmates don't have money, they will be denied access to their basic rights," he added.
Ali Aranoval, director of the Center for Detention Studies (CDS), said that Indonesian prisons could not afford to fulfill the basic needs of the inmates because they were overcrowded. Such a situation, he explained, would inevitably provide business opportunities within the prisons.
"Because of the overcrowding situation, the large number [of inmates] cannot get access to their basic necessities," Ali said. "This sets up business opportunities for both prisoners and prison guards."
Cipinang is home to 2,516 inmates despite only being designed to support 1,084.
The head of the penitentiary's narcotics block, Edy Kurnaedy, denied that the illegal practices occurred in his block, saying that inmates often lied to get money from visitors. "I only just heard about these guards. If I find any, I will hang those guards," he said.
Justice and Human Rights Ministry spokesman Martua Batubara also denied that bribery and illegal fees were widespread among Indonesian penitentiaries, claiming that the ministry had over 50,000 officers across the country, and such cases would only be likely from a few undisciplined prison guards.
Martua also pledged that the ministry was fulfilling its commitment to bureaucratic reform and promised to punish prison wardens who violated their responsibilities as government officials.
"If there is an official who violates his responsibilities and collects illegal fees [from inmates or visitors], it is definitely a violation of regulations and he should be punished for his undisciplined conduct."
"The ministry is currently in the process of bureaucratic reform, and [wardens] have received work benefits, thus there should be no tolerance for officers who violate their duties as government officials," Martua added. (sat)