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span class="caption" style="width: 378px;">Kompas.comLater this week, graft suspects will be moved into a new detention center inside the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) building in South Jakarta.

KPK officials said that the cells, which they said were “inexpensive but adequate”, would be more secure compared to detention centers run by other institutions.

“As of next month, we will detain KPK suspects here,” KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said recently.

The 80-square-meter detention center is located in the basement of the KPK building and will have five 3.1-by-3.5 meter cells with two separate bathrooms.

Johan said that the new detention center, which he called “an ancillary to the Salemba detention center” would only be for suspects in high-profile cases.

“We will consider the security needs first. Suspects who receive threats or those who need extra security will be detained here,” he said. “But it will also depend on how big the case is,” he added.

Johan also said that suspects withholding important information could also be detained in the cells.

The KPK said it would install sophisticated security systems. It will also station two guards inside the detention center and another outside around the clock in three rotating shifts.

“We will soon coordinate with the Law and Human Rights Ministry to assign a team of guards and a warden,” Johan said.

KPK would also apply strict visiting hours. Visitors must first register with staffers at the lobby of the KPK headquarters before being granted permission to access the lobby of the detention center. Visitors will speak to detainees through a screen.

No detainees will receive any privileges in the cells. “Detainees will be permitted to bring their own amenities,” Johan said.

The KPK spent only Rp 20 million (US$2,200) from its 2012 budget on building the detention center.

In spite of the meager budget, the KPK said that the new cells met all requirements set by the Law and Human Rights Ministry for the construction of detention centers.

All five non-smoking cells will have only exhaust fans and no air conditioning. The three rooms that are ready each have a single wooden bed. “All furniture, including the squat toilets, was purchased
secondhand,” Johan said.

The idea to build the KPK’s own detention center came as a result of the controversial case involving bribery convict Artalyta Suryani in late 2010.

Artalyta was caught by members of the Judicial Mafia Task Force enjoying exceptional facilities inside her cell in the Pondok Bambu Penitentiary in East Jakarta.

Suspects and defendants in graft cases are currently detained in a number of detention centers run by the Law and Human Rights Ministry and the National Police. Graft convicts are mostly sent to the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.

In April 2010, a new prison block was opened for both convicted corruption prisoners and those on remand at the Cipinang Penitentiary. The new three-story block has 64 cells with a maximum capacity of 256 prisoners.