TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly will scrap a decree on housing all graft convicts in Sukamiskin Penitentiary in the city of Bandung. According to him, 488 inmates in the prison will be transferred to other prisons, including four penitentiaries around Sukamiskin.

“We will do it gradually because some prisons are over capacity,” Yasonna said on Tuesday, February 7, 2017. “Basically, a number of graft convicts will be transferred.”

Sukamiskin was named a prison for graft convicts in December 2012 by deputy law minister. Graft convicts had been sent to the prison earlier that year. Each inmate was given a cell for easy oversight. The government had also renovated some structures in the prison to meet correctional needs. “Most of the offenders are highly educated who need different kinds of treatment,” Denny said back then.

Yet, as revealed by Tempo investigation, inmates can obtain temporary leave claiming they were sick. Among the inmates who have done so are the graft convict in the Forestry Ministry project Anggoro Widjojo, former Palembang mayor Romi Herton and his wife, and former Bogor regent Rachmat Yasin. After such revelation, Anggoro Widjojo yesterday was transferred to Gunung Sindur Penitentiary in West Java.

Yasonna said that the decision to house graft inmates in one prison had, in fact, made oversight difficult. Inmates often break the rules, ranging from building a personal gazebo to temporarily leaving the prison. Yasonna has promised to punish prison guards guilty of letting them happen. “We have zero tolerance [for this issue],” he said.

Dedi Handoko, the warden of Sukamiskin Penitentiary, has denied responsibility. He claimed that stricter rules have been implemented on permits to temporarily leave prison for graft convicts. “Before [the new, stricter rules] 15 inmates could leave in one day,” he said.

Syarpani, Directorate General of Penitentiary, Ministry of Law and Human Rights, said that an investigation team had examined the files of the inmates’ leave permit. According to him, Dedi Handoko’s leave permits had been issued according to the procedures. The permits were given based on doctor recommendation, verification process and the penitentiary observer team hearing.

Sukamiskin Penitentiary is also assisted by police to escort inmates getting medical treatment outside prison. “There is no problem with permit issuance and its process in the prison. If inmates go to other places under [police] guard, we can’t do anything about it,” he said.

FRANSISCO ROSARIANS | PUTRA PRIMA PERDANA | AHMAD FAIZ