Bali’s Most Notorious Prison To Be Relocated Away From Tourism Resorts

Share The Article

Bali’s most notorious prison, Kerobokan Penitentiary, is located just steps from some of the island’s busiest hotels, resorts, and popular eateries.

Kerobokan Prison is famed for housing some of Indonesia’s most dangerous and high-profile criminals, and it is also considered to be dangerously overcrowded. Leaders have been seeking to relocate the prison for some time. 

Plans to recreate Kerobokan Prison from the heart of Badung Regency to Jembrana Regency in the far west of Bali have been in the pipeline for some time. This month, the mega-operational and infrastructural development project has seen some progress.

It is no simple task to relocate a prison, especially since Kerobokan is now deemed not fit for purpose. Leaders are looking to build an entirely new prison complex in Melaya District. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wonderful Indonesia (@wonderfulindonesia)

The Head of the Class II-B Negara Detention Center, I Gusti Agus Putra Mahendra, confirmed that a field inspection has taken place at the land in Melaya District where the new prison complex will be built. The inspection was conducted in conjunction with the Bali Provincial Government last week.

The new land spans over 11 hectares and has been chosen for its strategic placement along major interprovincial routes. Jembrana Regency is well connected to both Denpasar City and transportation links to East Java. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wonderful Indonesia (@wonderfulindonesia)

Mahendra told reporters, “According to the information we received, the planned land area is 11 hectares, located along the Denpasar-Gilimanuk road. The initial information was 10 hectares, but there’s a possibility of an additional hectare, but that’s still uncertain.”

Alongside developing a new prison complex, the provincial government also plans to build a new detention center in Mengwi, in Badung Regency. This detention center will be built on 4 hectares of land.

Mahendra noted that the planned construction of a new prison in the Jembrana Regency would not disrupt the existing state detention centers. He stated that the two institutions have technically different functions.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bali Tourism Board (@balitourismboardofficial)

Mahendra explained, “Their function is different from that of detention centers. (State) Detention centers still exist. After detainees become inmates, they’ll be moved to the prisons. This could help reduce overcrowding.”

He concluded, “Regarding the land inspection in the Melaya area, that’s true, but it’s just a discussion and the process is still long because its feasibility is still being studied further.”

Moving the prison not only tackles the issues of overcrowding and security issues faced by having a prison so close to residential and tourism areas, but also feeds into the island’s longstanding traffic congestion issues. As part of long-term spatial planning, the roads around Kerobokan Prison need to be widened, particularly along Jalan Teuku Umar Barat–Tangkuban Perahu in Kerobokan Kelod. The roads around Kerobokan Prison are among the most congested in Badung Regency. 

Badung Regency is Bali’s most established area in terms of tourism, home to destinations like Canggu, Seminyak, Legian, Kuta, Jimbaran, and Uluwatu, and is also home to the highest volume of vehicles. It has recently been confirmed that there are one million registered vehicles in Badung Regency, despite there being only 500,000 official residents. 

Bali’s Kerobokan Prison is often referred to as Hotel K, due to its high number of international inmates and its proximity to top resorts. The prison is located just 4km from the heart of Canggu.

The complex was originally built to house 300 inmates in the late 1970s, but figures from 2017 say that upwards of 1,400 inmates are housed within the complex. Figures from 2017 are the last formally available; there are concerns that even more people could be housed in the facility now. 

Famous inmates of Kerobokan Prison have included Andrew Chan, Si Yi Chen, Renae Lawrence, Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, and Myuran Sukumaran, all better known as the Bali Nine.