HIV/AIDS haunt Jakarta prisons

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Defendants from high profile cases like former president Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra and ex-Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan, who are currently being detained in prison, have reason to worry, as a senior health official revealed on Thursday that HIV/AIDS is spreading in the city's penitentiaries.

"Yes, HIV/AIDS is found in local penitentiaries," City Health Agency chief A. Cholik Masulili told reporters in a ceremony in North Jakarta.

He said penitentiaries were "high risk" places for Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome as many prisoners jailed for drug-related crimes were vulnerable to infection.

"Besides the presence of drugs, many of the prisoners conduct 'strange behavior,'" Masulili said, referring to the widespread practice of unsafe sex.

According to health officials, 22 percent of 200 prisoners who took HIV/AIDS tests at Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta tested positive.

The penitentiary's chief, Bambang Kusbanu, claimed the health service could not be improved due to limited funds.

He said that the penitentiary received Rp 1.5 billion a year for health services for a total of 2,106 inmates.

"So, a prisoner is allocated only Rp 700 a year or Rp 60 a month for their health," Bambang was quoted by Media Indonesia daily on Wednesday.

He claimed that his officers, who regularly checked the cells, never found drugs or syringes.

Jakarta has three penitentiaries: Salemba, Cipinang and Pondok Bambu women's penitentiary in East Jakarta.

On March 22, a guard at Cipinang Penitentiary was caught dealing drugs with an inmate in the high-security-prison.

It was reported that drug deals in the prison amounted to Rp 20 million (US$2,000) last year.

Noted writer Arswendo Atmowiloto who was once jailed, wrote in his book Menghitung Hari/Kehidupan di Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (Counting The Days/A Life in Penitentiaries) in 1993, describes the widespread practice of unsafe sex between prisoners.