Welcome Guest   |  Login   |   Signup
JG Logo
Sat, May 26, 2012
Archive Search

KPK Builds Jail Center in Its Basement
Rizky Amelia | February 21, 2012

Officials said that holding cells for corruption suspects that are being built in the basement of the Corruption Eradication Commission Officials said that holding cells for corruption suspects that are being built in the basement of the Corruption Eradication Commission's office could be ready by March. (Antara Photo/Fanny Octavianus)
Share This Page
5
0
0
1
Share with google+ :


Post a comment
Please login to post comment

Comments

LadyBuggers
6:47am Feb 22, 2012

If the photograph is genuine, the cells are far more decent compared to the regular cells in regular prisons. I was actually hoping for a stinkhole :)

  • Previous
  • 1
  • Next

Holding cells for graft suspects that are being built in the basement of the antigraft agency’s office may be ready as soon as next month, officials said on Tuesday.

Johan Budi, a spokesman for the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), said the cells would constitute an off-site “branch” of Salemba Penitentiary in Central Jakarta, where most graft suspects are detained for the duration of their trials.

Guiding reporters on a tour of the new facility, which is accessible through the KPK’s basement parking garage, Johan said the cells would go into operation “probably next month.”

He added that the new cells were necessary to avoid the high level of unfettered interaction that suspects at Salemba Penitentiary, Cipinang Penitentiary and other detention centers currently enjoy with their visitors.

The KPK’s cells feature plate-glass windows to prevent any physical contact or the exchange of goods between detainees and their visitors.

Two-way communication has also been enabled through built-in phone handsets.

The facility consists of three cells, each built for a single detainee, but Johan said two more would be added in the near future. A guard post sits directly in front of the cells.

“I believe this facility meets the standards of the Justice and Human Rights Ministry,” Johan said.

The ministry has come under heavy criticism for the lax supervision of corruption suspects and convicts at its penitentiaries, especially after news broke that some suspects were enjoying lavish facilities such as air-conditioning and LCD televisions.

The latest scandal centers around high-profile corruption suspect and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin, who is currently being held at Cipinang.

Earlier this month, a spot inspection caught him meeting in his cell with two lawyers and his brother, Democratic legislator Muhammad Nasir, long after visiting hours had ended.

The chief warden and the prison’s head of security were both fired after the discovery, as were the head of the Jakarta Justice Office and the office’s head of corrections.

In addition to being more secure, the KPK’s holding cells may also set a new standard for frugality after recent exorbitant spending plans by other state bodies have come to light.

“The whole thing cost just Rp 20 million [$2,220],” Johan said of the 80-square-meter facility.

He said the reason it was so cheap was because the KPK made good use of existing space in its basement.

Each of the new cells formerly served as a storage room.

Johan said the commission has also tried to be as frugal as possible.

“The beds, toilets and closets in the cells are all secondhand items,” he said.