As M'sia debates Najib’s 'luxury' house arrest, Indonesia finds villas inside prison

As Malaysians debate whether former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak should serve the remainder of his sentence at his luxury residence, and how authorities would prevent him from accessing facilities denied to ordinary prisoners, Indonesia has offered a surreal counterpoint: a prison where some inmates enjoyed luxury villas, a swimming pool, and a gym.

The extraordinary facilities were uncovered at Cibinong men’s prison in Bogor, about 54km from Jakarta, where authorities have since demolished 10 structures housing the so‑called villas.

The accommodation came with creature comforts rarely associated with incarceration: air-conditioning, furniture, and large-screen TVs. Bottles of alcohol were also reportedly found inside.

Luxury cars were said to have been parked nearby, while the area around the structures lacked a barbed‑wire perimeter and was not covered by CCTV.

Security appeared even more porous at one access point, where an unlocked gate connected the yard surrounding the units to a bamboo forest, effectively allowing prisoners to move in and out at will.

And, as if the list of amenities were not already extraordinary enough, a golf simulator was reportedly being planned, with initial work having begun.

Officials probe unofficial, self-funded villas

Indonesia’s Ombudsman office said the “villas” were discovered last week during an inspection and believes inmates had been paying rent to stay there.

Immigration and Corrections Ministry inspector-general Rudi Setiawan said the buildings and facilities had been documented and inventoried before demolition.

Preliminary findings indicated the structures were not built using state budget funds but were self‑funded and had not been registered as state‑owned assets.

“Indeed, people were staying or living there, as indicated by photographs,” Rudi said, adding that the ministry would investigate those responsible for allowing the arrangement to exist.

On the proposed golf simulator, he said the project had remained at the planning stage, with work so far limited to the laying of carpeting.

Parliament probes illegal levies

The revelations prompted scrutiny at a special parliamentary hearing on Sept 29, where lawmakers also raised concerns over security arrangements that appeared to have been deliberately left open, as well as allegations of illegal levies imposed on inmates’ visiting family members.

“There are illegal levies imposed on inmates amounting to 150,000 rupiah (RM35) per week in one of the blocks. We obtained this information from family members who had just finished visiting,” Ombudsman member Syafrida R Rasahan told the hearing.

The prison houses more than 1,800 inmates, several times its intended capacity, and holds prisoners convicted of offences ranging from violent crimes to white‑collar offences such as corruption.

The head of the prison and four other senior officials have since been suspended.

Among the more prominent inmates is Ferdy Sambo, a former head of the Indonesian police’s internal affairs division whose case was later featured in a Netflix documentary.

Sambo is serving a life sentence for the 2022 murder of his aide, Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat.

The case of Abdullah Ang

Malaysia, too, has a documented case of a privileged prisoner in the form of businessperson Abdullah Ang, who died last year.

In 1989, the Malay Mail revealed that Abdullah, who was then serving an eight-year prison sentence for criminal breach of trust at Kajang Prison - coincidentally, the same prison where Najib is being held - was able to roam freely outside the prison.

He also enjoyed a carpeted cell equipped with a refrigerator, video player and waterbed.

An investigative report by the newspaper subsequently led to Abdullah being photographed in Kuala Lumpur, where he was reportedly helping to run his family business when he was supposed to be working at a prison-run orchid farm in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan.

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