印尼监狱惊现“豪华公寓”：大电视、豪车和高尔夫模拟器

Last week, Indonesia's watchdog made a surprise inspection of Cibinong prison, near the capital, Jakarta.

What it found shocked the whole country: some prisoners were living lives that looked nothing like serving time.

Cibinong is a medium-security prison.

Inspectors found prisoners living in at least ten houses outside the prison, houses that were originally meant for staff.

At first, guards blocked the inspectors from entering.

When they finally got in, they saw spacious rooms, flat-screen TVs and a gym.

Expensive cars were parked in the compound, and a golf simulator was under construction.

The inspectors also found an unsecured exit at the back of the security area, where people could come and go freely through the neighbouring forest.

The watchdog said in a statement that facilities like those at Cibinong had never been found anywhere else.

One prisoner, when questioned by officials, also admitted to living in one of the houses.

But it's still unclear which prisoners enjoyed this treatment, and for how long.

The authorities are investigating whether these prisoners bribed prison staff to get this "VIP" treatment.

Last Saturday, the inspector general of Indonesia's Ministry of Immigration and Corrections announced that five officials, including the warden, had been suspended and placed under investigation.

He said the ministry had already questioned dozens of prisoners and prison officials.

On Monday, the director general of corrections told a parliamentary hearing that the investigation had found thirteen unregistered staff residences in the prison compound.

At a hearing on Tuesday, a member of the watchdog said: this is only the tip of the iceberg, and if it isn't corrected systematically, the problems will only grow.

The case has provoked intense anger in Indonesia.

For a long time, prisons there have been overcrowded, and accusations that low-paid guards take bribes have been widespread.

Analysts who study the prison system say Indonesia's prisons often have too many prisoners and too few guards.

Some corrupt staff provide wealthy prisoners with drugs, outings and luxury goods.

Guards have also been accused of complicity in some escapes, while other escapes happened because of their negligence.

In 2017, for example, prisoners dug a tunnel out of a high-security prison on the resort island of Bali.

In 2018, a government agency found that prisoners held on corruption charges at another prison had paid guards to arrange VIP treatment for them.

A prison is supposed to treat every prisoner the same.

But at Cibinong, money seemed able to buy a different kind of prison life.

If you were in charge of reforming a prison system like this, where would you start?