Woman tells of ordeal with Salemba prison officers

JAKARTA (JP): Dirty business knows no forbidden place. It takes place even in prison.

Several prisons in and around Jakarta, also those located in other parts of the country, are widely known for rampant bribes and crooked guards and staff.

Drugs and prostitutes can be bought in easily as long as the prisoners have the cash to pay for them, some prisoners say.

"If you want to make love with your spouse in this prison, you should pay a certain amount of money to the guards, who will give you a place and few minutes to do just that," a convicted killer at Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta told The Jakarta Post once.

A 55-year-old woman disclosed on Friday that she was stunned by the things she found happening at Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta.

According to Rose (not her real name), who visited her son while he was incarcerated at the prison, on her first visit she was suddenly surrounded by prison staff who offered to find a comfortable place for her son in the prison.

"On my first visit, these 'brokers' (the staff) approached me, just as they approach other people visiting their convicted or suspected relatives or spouses," she told the Post.

Rose said there were dozens of brokers and all of them talked so fast, leaving her confused.

"They were offering so-called comfortable cells for prices like Rp 4 million and Rp 5 million. But we were not allowed to see the cells.

"We were at their mercy," she said.

For the sake of her son, who is in his mid 20s and was sentenced to one year in prison for consuming shabu-shabu (crystal methamphetamine), Rose agreed to pay Rp 750,000 for a cell.

"I took it," she said, adding that she had no idea where the money went to.

She was astounded a month later when her son told her that all the cells were just the same: a small room for five prisoners. The occupants of the cell all had to bathe together.

He then informed Rose that there were "elite cells" inside the prison, where a prisoner, for example, could take a shower in privacy, she said.

"He said he felt uncomfortable taking showers with all those men. So he asked me to arrange one of the elite cells in Block A or Block B," she said.

On subsequent visits, Rose was approached by several brokers who offered her a cell in one of the blocks for between Rp 5 million and Rp 10 million.

"Some parents agreed to pay Rp 6 million, and there was one man who took a cell for Rp 10 million. One nice woman offered me a cell in Block B for Rp 4 million, which I accepted," she said.

However, the elite cell in Block B came with more problems than perks.

"The security officials do not lock the elite prison cells until late at night, unlike other cells which are always locked," she said.

"Prisoners of the elite cells are allowed to have their own chain and padlock... they can lock themselves in anytime they like. The nonviolent prisoners are allowed to roam about outside their cells, but are forbidden to leave the prison."

"My son also had to pay for his own food every day."

She said that the sale of drugs was rampant in the two prison blocks.

"The sale of 'ice' or shabu-shabu, is so rampant between prisoners and the brokers. They traded the drugs openly for between Rp 10,000 and Rp 20,000 per package. You can even smoke shabu-shabu inside a cell. It's like a fish market. So noisy," she said.

"I was so afraid for my son. I went to city police detectives and begged them to put my son in a police detention cell. I told them that if he stayed in Salemba, it would be impossible for him to get off drugs. They couldn't do anything."

Her son also had to buy his own mattress and table fan.

"They sell mattresses inside the prison for between Rp 200,000 and Rp 250,000. But I got him a mattress from outside for Rp 70,000," she said.

Rose also had to pay a monthly fee of between Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000 for what the prison staff called "building and electricity fees".

When asked to comment on the illegal activities, Salemba Penitentiary security chief Slamet Priyantoro denied the allegations.

"It is absolutely untrue that there are drug transactions here. We're carrying out routine checks almost every day. It is not true," he said.

Slamet also rejected allegations that the prison staff were crooked, or that special cells were offered for a price to relatives of convicts and suspects.

"No, no. That's wrong... wrong information. People outside like to tell such bad stories. It is not true," she said.

Last Friday, two prisoners, Tommy, 35, and Irwan, 27, were arrested at the prison in a raid along with 533 ecstasy pills, 15 grams of shabu-shabu, seven sedative pills, one anti-impotence Viagra tablet and drug paraphernalia.

The case is still being investigated. (ylt/bsr)