Jakarta. Indonesia's Directorate General of Corrections has questioned 55 inmates, including former police general Ferdy Sambo, as part of an investigation into luxury facilities discovered at Cibinong Class IIA Prison in Bogor, West Java.

The inmates included 21 prisoners participating in an assimilation program, 33 corruption convicts, and Sambo, Corrections Director General at the Immigration and Correctional Affairs Ministry Mashudi told a House of Representatives Commission XIII hearing in Jakarta on Monday.

The questioning followed an inspection by the Ombudsman, which uncovered what appeared to be luxury accommodation inside the prison.

Mashudi said the Corrections Directorate had formed an investigative team to determine who owned the facilities and other items found during the inspection.

The investigation resulted in several prison officials being removed from their positions, while Cibinong warden Wisnu Hani Putranto was suspended.

The ministry also appointed acting officials to key posts, including the warden, head of prison security, and officials overseeing inmate development and general affairs.

According to Mashudi, the investigation found that the luxury accommodation belonged to prison employees rather than inmates.

He also said a bottle of beer found in a refrigerator belonged to an employee, not a prisoner.

A photograph of convicted corruption offender Jimmy Masrin found on a desk was likewise a confiscated item and was not part of the room's private belongings, Mashudi said.

Who is Ferdy Sambo?

Sambo is a former two-star police general who headed the National Police's Internal Affairs and Security Division before his dismissal following the 2022 killing of his aide, Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat.

Sambo was convicted of the premeditated murder of Yosua and initially sentenced to death by the South Jakarta District Court in February 2023. The Supreme Court later reduced the sentence to life imprisonment in August 2023. 

The case became one of Indonesia's most closely watched criminal investigations after Yosua was found dead at Sambo's official residence in South Jakarta in July 2022. Sambo was also convicted in connection with efforts to obstruct the investigation into the killing. 

Lawmakers Demand Prison Audit
The luxury-facility findings have prompted scrutiny from lawmakers, with House Commission XIII calling for a broader examination of Cibinong prison.

Rieke Diah Pitaloka, a commission member from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), called for a comprehensive audit covering prison assets, construction, occupancy capacity, spatial arrangements, security, and inmate movements.

"The Cibinong prison case is not merely about a luxury cluster, but about the integrity of the corrections system," Rieke said during Monday's hearing.

She said the Ombudsman's findings should not be reduced to a dispute over luxury facilities and welcomed the Corrections Directorate's decision to return items identified by the Ombudsman to their original locations.

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