Here's a newspaper article for you all to enjoy:
JAKARTA, Indonesia – It's a bedroom most poor Indonesians can only dream about _ air conditioned with a spacious double bed, flat-screen television, private bathroom, adjoining karaoke suite and serviced by maids and assistants.
But this bedroom is the prison cell of a woman serving a five-year sentence for bribing an Indonesian prosecutor.
News that business tycoon Artalyta Suryani had bought comfort behind bars using the same tactics for which she was punished has enraged ordinary Indonesians and embarrassed authorities in a country already known as one of the world's most corrupt.
The details of the luxury living conditions of Suryani and other rich prisoners have been splashed across the front pages of national newspapers and dominated television coverage this week, the result of a surprise visit to Jakarta Pondok Bambu women's penitentiary by a team set up by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to eradicate the so-called "Judicial Mafia."
"We found a number of wealthy inmates had been provided with exclusive facilities," team member Denny Indrayana said Wednesday. "They allegedly paid some corrupt individuals in the prison to get all they want. It shows the weakness of our judicial system."
Yudhoyono's government has made fighting corruption the centerpiece of its agenda, securing the convictions of several governors and legislators in recent years. But progress is slow in a country where graft is endemic especially among poorly paid law enforcers.
Transparency International still ranks the Southeast Asian nation among the most corrupt in the world, and scandals like this one still regularly embarrass the government.
Suryani was sharing her 8-by-8 meter (26-by-26 foot) room with her adopted child, who slept in a cot and was cared for by a full-time nanny.
A normal Indonesian prison cell is a cement cubicle a fraction of the size, often shared by dozens of inmates. Overcrowding is a serious and widespread problem.
Other perks in Suryani's cell included unlimited and unregistered visitors, private drivers to collect and drop off goods, beauty treatments, a private office with leather chairs and sofas, Tempo magazine reported.
"This total madness," Tri Agustine, a Facebook user, said in a posting on the popular social networking site. "Corruptors will not be deterred for committing graft again and again if the prison cells provided are like this."
Suryani has reportedly been moved to a general population cell, shared with three other prisoners, since the details became public.
"Investigation into other prisons is now under way to eradicate such practices," said Untung Sugiyono, director general of prisons at the Justice Ministry.
Reflections
When I first read this article, I was furious. How could someone actually bribe to make sure one has luxury in a jail cell? When someone is sent to jail, it is punishment for a crime or wrongdoing, and in hope that the convict would repent and change for the better. The life in jail is meant to be hard so as to teach the convict the consequences of the crime he or she committed. By enjoying a luxury in the jail cell, it defeats the purpose of being sent to jail in the first place. Suryani was sentenced 5-years in jail for bribing an Indonesian prosecutor, yet she bribes again in jail so as to have a luxurious life in the cell. This shows that she has not repented and was determined to have things her own way even in jail. Also, it was stated in the article that the other convicts in jail were only in cells that were a fraction of Suryani's jail cell, and that each cell was usually shared with other cell mates. This is deemed highly unfair, as she has the benefit of a large space, and did not even had to worry of the jail cell being overcrowded. How can the authorities in Indonesia expect the other convicts to repent when they gave priority and luxuries to someone who has money?
An air-conditioned room, a flat screen television set, a karaoke suite, a double bed and a lot of maids and assistants, not to mention a full-time nanny. This is something that even the average class people dream about. If anyone can enjoy a luxury in jail just by being rich, then what is the point of a jail cell then? What is a jail sentence to a rich and corrupt person if he or she can still live in luxury even when he is in jail?
The jail was facing a lot of overcrowding problems and quite a few convicts had to live in a single cramped jail cell, yet there are people who are serving their jail terms in cells that are much bigger and spacious, and only has one occupant per cell. If everyone was treated fairly, and if the individuals in the jail did not accept the bribes, each of the convicts would not have to squeeze too much in a single jail cell. Sadly, not a lot of individuals are able to do such a thing, since greed has the ability to drive man on to do many unimaginable things. If we are able to set aside our greed, then perhaps lesser people would have to suffer.
