'Open prison' inaugurated

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: Minister of Justice Oetojo Oesman will inaugurate here this week the so-called open correctional institution, the first of its kind in Indonesia.

Head of the provincial office of the justice ministry here, Suharto, said two other "open prisons" await inauguration in Semarang, Central Java and Bukittinggi in West Sumatra.

He was quoted by Antara as saying that the new prisons differ from the conventional ones in that there are no high walls which surround regular prisons.

Inmates, he said, live in ordinary houses and can work on farms or breed cattle within the premises. The open correctional institution in West Nusa Tenggara has five hectares of land for such activities.

"Inmates work on this plot of land and are expected to continue doing their jobs in society after their release," he said.

However, only inmates with good prison records can be transferred to the open correctional institutions.

The "open prison" is in Ojong-Ojong village, Batu Kliang subdistrict, Central Lombok district, about 25 kilometers east of here, and is now home to seven inmates. (swe)