Prison warden denies 'special treatment'

JAKARTA (JP): The warden of Salemba Penitentiary has dismissed reports some prisoners are accorded special privileges and allowed to run criminal activities from behind bars.

Firma Uli Silalahi said at his office in East Jakarta on Wednesday that there were no exceptions in the application of prison rules and procedures.

"We hold routine inspections of all cells, always screen the gifts and packages sent by the prisoners' families and enforce strict visiting hours."

Silalahi showed 27 cellular telephones, which he said guards confiscated from prisoners.

"The seized phones hopefully will show to the public that the prisoners are treated equally here and they cannot bribe officials to keep quiet about prohibited possessions just because they're rich."

He said reports of the arrest of a man at the penitentiary on suspicion of dealing drugs to prisoners were incorrect.

"He was not caught here but outside the penitentiary. I don't know where," he said.

Jakarta Police said on Tuesday that they apprehended Koti Kristiana alias Teddy at the penitentiary early Tuesday.

Teddy, 45, was arrested as he waited for a jailed businessman named Alif in the prison lobby to hand over cash and ecstasy pills, police said.

Alif was arrested in April for possession of marijuana and an unlicensed weapon.

Teddy reportedly called Alif on his cellular phone to inform him of a potential customer, who was an undercover police detective, and proceeded to the prison.

The detective called in other officers to make the arrest when he was sure Teddy had been permitted into the prison's lobby.

The team led by Jakarta Police detectives chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo apprehended Teddy, but Alif was stopped from entering the lobby by prison guards and fellow prisoners.

"It was 3 a.m., so even if there was no drug transaction going on at the time, what we witnessed was already a breach of the regulation on visiting hours," Alex said.

He pledged to uncover drug dealing inside the prison and said he would not tolerate anyone who shielded the criminals.

The detective chief scheduled a meeting with Silalahi at Jakarta Police Headquarters, but the warden was unable to make the appointment due to an impromptu inspection by officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs. (emf)