Mita Amalia Hapsari, Cibinong, West Java – Indonesian lawmakers are scheduled to inspect Cibinong Prison on Wednesday following the discovery of 16 buildings near the facility, some containing apartment-like amenities and suspected of being used to provide preferential treatment to certain inmates.
Members of House of Representatives Commission XIII, which oversees immigration, corrections and human rights, are expected to examine the buildings behind the prison, particularly those around the Assimilation and Education Facility (SAE).
The visit follows a heated parliamentary hearing Monday in which lawmakers questioned Cibinong Prison officials and Director General of Corrections Mashudi over the facilities and called for accountability over the controversy.
Activity around the prison appeared largely normal Wednesday morning ahead of the lawmakers' arrival.
The main gate remained open for inmate visits, with family members entering through the registration post and required to provide the name of the prisoner they intended to visit.
Security around the front entrance, however, appeared tighter than the previous day, with several uniformed corrections officers stationed near the gate.
Journalists also gathered outside the prison awaiting the arrival of Commission XIII members.
Lawmakers to inspect controversial buildings
The area came under scrutiny after the Indonesian Ombudsman conducted an unannounced inspection on Sept. 23 and discovered a cluster of residential buildings containing amenities including sofas, televisions, refrigerators, dining tables and bedrooms.
The Ombudsman described some of the facilities as resembling homestays or apartment-style accommodation and raised concerns that inmates may have received unauthorized privileges.
During the inspection, Ombudsman officials encountered inmates in the area, including two men later identified by corrections authorities as corruption convicts Ahmad Albani and Hasan Tjhie.
Both are serving 10-year sentences in the PT Timah corruption case.
Corrections officials acknowledge that the two inmates were in the area but deny that they were secretly living in the houses to avoid normal prison conditions.
Mashudi has said the inmates were participating in activities at the SAE, a facility intended for rehabilitation and reintegration programs.
Corrections officials have also maintained that most of the residential buildings were intended as rest facilities or official accommodation for prison employees.
Wednesday's inspection is expected to allow lawmakers to compare those explanations with conditions on the ground.
Commission XIII members also plan to examine the buildings' administrative status after corrections authorities acknowledged that 13 of the 16 structures in the area were not recorded in the government's State Property Management and Accounting Information System, known as SIMAK BMN.
Lawmakers are also expected to inspect the rooms, furnishings and other facilities found in the area.
Rooms allegedly cleared after inspection
The parliamentary visit comes amid questions over whether some of the rooms were cleared shortly after the Ombudsman's surprise inspection.
Suspended Cibinong Prison Warden Wisnu Hani Putranto has faced scrutiny over an alleged instruction to empty rooms following the Ombudsman's visit.
Wisnu was suspended after the watchdog publicly disclosed its findings.
During Monday's House hearing, lawmakers also pressed him over the absence of CCTV cameras around the residential buildings and questioned official explanations for unusual items found there, including alcohol and a framed photograph of corruption convict Jimmy Masrin.
Corrections authorities have launched an investigation into the buildings, their use and possible violations.
The controversy has intensified as officials and the Ombudsman have offered differing accounts of some of the facilities, including a structure described by corrections authorities as an operations office for a cattle-fattening program and an installation the Ombudsman believed was being prepared as a golf simulator.
Corrections officials have said the latter was actually intended for storage lockers.