Government to build detention house specially for drug suspects

Pangkalpinang, Babel  (Antaranews Babel) - The provincial Law and Human Right Service of Bangka Blitung (Babel) said it will build a special detention house for drug detainees.

The detention house, to be built in the district of Bangka Tengah, is needed to reduce overcapacity of the existing prison in that area.

"This year we will build a new detention house in Bangka Tengah," head of the provincial Law and Human Right Service Sulistiarso said here on Wednesday.

In order to speed up the implementation of the plan, the Service would use the budget for the National Anti Narcotics Agency (BNNP) and capital spending of each of correctional services in the province, he said.

"Currently the plan is in the process of land clearing where the detention house to be built," Sulistiarso said.

The land is given as a grant from the provincial administration of Bangka Belitung, as a form of support for the plan.

"Hopefully the new detention house would ease the problem of high overcapacity of prisons in the Pangkalpinang," Sulistiarso said.

He said currently the prison in Pangkalpinang has 859 inmates including 139 suspects and 720 convicts as against capacity of only 450 inmates.

The Law and Human Right Ministry has said most prisons and detention houses in the country have been over crowded.