The government has been widely criticized for its poor prison management ranging from rampant illegal levies, overcrowding and drug trading.

Another issue that has put the country’s prison crisis into the spotlight is special cells for convicts allegedly willing to pay hefty sums to enjoy comfort behind bars.

The National Narcotics Agency (BNN) recently discovered a special cell in Cipinang penitentiary occupied by Haryanto Chandra, a drug convict serving 14 years’ imprisonment. Haryanto is reportedly linked to the late Freddy Budiman, a notorious drug kingpin. Freddy was one of four death-row convicts executed at the high-security Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, last year.

The BNN officers’ crackdown on prison cells at the Cipinang Penitentiary on May 31 as part of an investigation into the laundering of Rp 39 bill...