Prison Head Apologises Over Corruption Inmate at Coffee Shop, Admits Violation

The head of Kendari Class IIA State Detention Centre (Rutan), Rikie Umbaran, has expressed apologies regarding an inmate being present at a coffee shop in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. The corruption inmate, along with detention centre staff, was seen relaxing and hanging out at the coffee shop, which went viral on social media. The corruption convict in question is Supriadi, who has been sentenced to five years in prison for a mining sector corruption case during his tenure as Head of Class III KUPP Kolaka. In response to the inmate being able to hang out at the coffee shop, Rikie admitted that there was a violation of standard operating procedures (SOP) by the officer with initials Y. He explained that Y had previously been assigned to escort inmate Supriadi to attend a case review hearing (PK) at the court. He clarified that, according to procedures, the inmate should have been brought directly back to the detention centre after the hearing concluded. However, in this case, the inmate was instead given a brief opportunity to stop at the coffee shop. “We apologise for the discomfort caused by this incident,” said Rikie in Kendari on Wednesday (15/4) night, as quoted from Antara. Rikie recounted that at the time of the incident, he was carrying out official duties at the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) in the Tangerang area for coordination and study of the inmate self-reliance programme. After receiving information about the incident, he said, his side immediately instructed the formation of an investigation team to probe the inmate and the escorting officer. In addition, Rikie said the incident had also been reported up the chain to the Southeast Sulawesi Regional Office of the Directorate General of Corrections. “Upon my return, the inmate and the escorting officer were immediately examined. The results showed a violation of SOP in the escorting process,” he stated. The errant officer was disciplined, and the inmate was moved to an isolation cell. As follow-up, Rikie continued, the escorting officer found to be negligent was given firm sanctions in the form of removal from position and reassignment to the Southeast Sulawesi Directorate General of Corrections Regional Office for disciplinary training. Meanwhile, the inmate in question was transferred to the Kendari Class IIA Penitentiary (Lapas) and placed in an isolation cell. Rikie emphasised that these steps represent a commitment to enforcing discipline and integrity within the correctional environment. “Every violation will be dealt with firmly in accordance with applicable regulations,” he said.