T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has called on the Law and Human Rights Ministry to take serious action in curbing the allegedly rampant practice of inmates bribing officials for special facilities at Sukamiskin Penitentiary in Bandung, West Java.

“There should be firm [action] from the ministry so that its [promise to reform the prison] won’t be all bark and no bite,” KPK spokesman Febri Diansyah said on Monday.

“All inmates should receive the same treatment and no privileges should be given for special facilities and prohibited goods.”

The statement was made in response to alleged maladministration and discrimination found by the Indonesian Ombudsman in Sukamiskin, which was specially designated for graft convicts.

In a surprise inspection of Sukamiskin last week, Ombudsman official Ninik Rahayu found significant differences between cell sizes and conditions.

Former House of Representatives speaker and e-ID graft convict Setya Novanto, for example, had one of the larger cells in the prison that is equipped with a modern toilet and a shower.

“There is discrimination in the prison,” she said. “Some [prisoners] are very privileged, from the size of their cell to the facilities available.”

Sukamiskin attracted nationwide attention in July when then-warden Wahid Husein was arrested by the KPK for allegedly accepting bribes from convicts in return for special facilities.

According to data from the Law and Human Rights Ministry, Sukamiskin is currently operating at 78 percent capacity, housing a total of 430 convicts and detainees.

Head of the ministry’s West Java office Ibnu Chuldun said the ministry had cleared all the cells of non-standard facilities as a follow-up to the Ombudsman’s findings.

“We have ensured that there are no more facilities like televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners and water dispensers [in the cells],” he said.

He acknowledged, however, that there were three different cell sizes in the prison, which was built by the Dutch colonial government in 1817. Its 556 cells are divided into 463 small cells that are 3.8 to 4 square meters in size. 41 medium cells ranging from 7.7 to 7.9 sqm and 52 large cells that are 8 to 12.7 sqm.

He said the small cells, which made up around 84 percent of the total cells in the prison, did not meet the minimum cell size of 5.4 sqm stipulated by a 2003 ministerial decree.

To remedy the situation, Ibnu said he had asked the prison’s new warden, Tejo Harwanto, to submit a budget proposal to the Corrections Directorate General.

Dodot Adikoeswanto, the ministry’s West Java office administration division head, said that the standardization of cell sizes in the prison would cost about Rp 11 billion (US$740,715).

“We hope to have all the cells the same size by 2019,” he said.

The Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) said the Ombudsman’s findings were indicative of a widespread discriminatory treatment of inmates in penitentiaries across the country, which is largely the result of overcrowding.

“Overcrowding clearly affects the minimum standards of fulfilling inmates’ rights,” said ICJR executive director Anggara, adding that the government should consider revising the draft Criminal Code bill currently being deliberated by the House to include alternative punishments for criminal offenses to reduce prison overcrowding.

“The alternative punishments [in the bill] are very minimal and have many conditions, and thus will not have a positive impact on the problem of overcrowding,” he said. “ICJR once again reminds the government and the House to seriously discuss noncustodial sentences to address the problems of overcrowding, discriminatory treatment of inmates and the commodification of prison facilities.”

According to Law and Human Rights Ministry data, as of August, Indonesia’s prisons and jails are at 199 percent capacity, with a total of 248,538 inmates nationwide — far exceeding the prisons’ capacity of 124,953 inmates. (kmt/kuk)