When Kasiem, a 55-year-old Indonesian woman, was condemned to seven months in prison she decided she would prefer not to serve the sentence. So she hired someone else to go to jail on her behalf.
Kasiem was convicted of selling government-subsidised fertiliser, a crime in Indonesia, but during her transfer to prison swapped places with Karni, a 50-year-old widow to whom she allegedly paid 10 million rupiah ($1,100).
It is the latest in a series of prison corruption scandals that have activists calling for deep reforms.
The case was uncovered last week when one of Kasiem’s neighbours went to visit her in jail only to be presented with the impostor.
Kasiem was arrested and taken to prison to start her sentence for real the following day, while Karni – both women use only one name – has yet to be charged.
The prisoner swap incident was only the latest example of influential or well-off inmates being able to buy their way out or furnish their cells as lavishly as they wish.
Former tax official Gayus Tambunan, who was supposedly being held in custody while standing trial for corruption, was able to leave and return to prison at will.
In November he was spotted at a tennis tournament on the holiday island of Bali, and police said nine officers were suspected of taking bribes ranging from 700 to 7,000 dollars to let him slip in and out of jail.
Businesswoman Artalyta Suryani, convicted in 2009 of bribing prosecutors, was undergoing a laser beauty treatment in prison when she was interrupted by officials on a snap inspection.
They found her incarcerated in an apartment-style 690-square-foot (64-square-metre) cell complete with air conditioning, a double bed, flat-screen television, refrigerator, private kitchen and bathroom, and a playpen for children.
Erna Ratnaningsih, director of the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation, said,”The prison system here is very weak, both for its administration and monitoring. How could somebody who was not a convict be able to break into a prison?”
“The prisons are like an independent country of their own. It’s hard for any outside bodies to do any inspections there,” she said.
Comprehensive prison reform including better monitoring and coordination was essential, she said, but added that a “legal mafia” – corrupt officials ranging from members of the police and prosecutors to judges – could peddle influence and turn justice upside down for the highest bidder.
A spokesman for the government’s Directorate General of Prisons, Chandra Lestiono, admitted that there were loopholes in the administration.