Caged like chickens: Indonesia’s rural treatments for drug abusers in spotlight

The discovery of dozens of detainees locked up in an official’s backyard has shocked Indonesia, where drugs are viewed as a scourge

Even as activists and observers say the case highlights the need for Indonesia to reform its drug laws, some villagers say they back the controversial practice

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A prison in Denpasar, Bali. Over half of Indonesian inmates are locked up on drug charges. Photo: AP

Published: 1:00pm, 20 Mar 2022

In January, Indonesian police searched the home of Terbit Rencana Perangin Angin, the Regent of Langkat, after he had been arrested for allegedly receiving kickbacks for infrastructure projects.

But what was meant to be a corruption investigation turned into something wider, when officers raided the expansive compound in North Sumatra surrounded by oil palm plantations.

In the backyard lay two ornate fish ponds and poultry coops – and locked up near the chickens and birds were some 40 detainees, who peered at shocked policemen from behind the iron bars of their prison cells.

As the probe expanded to include allegations of human rights abuses – including modern-day slavery, torture and illegal incarceration – Perangin Angin denied initial police suggestions he had been using the caged men as workers for his plantation. Instead, the regent claimed he had been running a rehabilitation centre for drug abusers, a claim corroborated by some locals speaking up in favour of a practice that has sparked debate in Indonesia.

Drugs are viewed as a scourge in Indonesia, where individuals are usually handed custodial sentences when found with even small traces of banned substances.

Caged like chickens: Indonesia’s rural treatments for drug abusers in spotlight

The discovery of dozens of detainees locked up in an official’s backyard has shocked Indonesia, where drugs are viewed as a scourge Even as activists and observers say the case highlights the need for Indonesia to reform its drug laws, some villagers say they back the controversial practice

The discovery of dozens of detainees locked up in an official’s backyard has shocked Indonesia, where drugs are viewed as a scourge

Even as activists and observers say the case highlights the need for Indonesia to reform its drug laws, some villagers say they back the controversial practice