By Jack Lapauve Jnr – EM TV, Port Moresby
The Opposition has again expressed concerns over the strain on prison facilities, caused by the overcrowding of prisoners in jails around the country.
“Like any other free person, prisoners have equal rights to the betterment of their welfare”, Opposition Leader, Don Polye said.
He made these statements in response to a media report citing inmate population has exceeded the maximum holding capacity of 4366.
Polye said, as reported, the current inmate population is 4640 which means overcrowding in all the prisons by 274.
He has commended the government for intending to address the overcrowding in the jails and prison camps nationwide; and called on the judicial arm of the government to recruit more judges to speed up the court cases for remandees.
“The overcrowding in the prisons and jails is a sign of high rate of lawlessness in the country.
“The government should not make most decisions devoid of law and order policy,” he said.
