[Rowe] Bomana Prison, Papua New Guinea.
Inmates are doing time for rape, armed robbery and cold-blooded murder...
[in Tok Pisin] I killed a witch. We cut her with a machete.
[Rowe] ...and they're kept in the most brutal conditions.
-Is this all that's left? -[prisoner] No rice now.
-They don't get fed? -No.
[Rowe] My name is Raphael Rowe,
and I'm spending a week here, locked up with the country's most violent criminals.
They're actually physically starting to fight each other.
[clamoring]
[Rowe] It's not my first time behind bars.
I was convicted in the UK of a murder I did not commit
and sentenced to life with no parole.
Now I'm traveling the globe to discover what life is really like
inside some of the world's toughest prisons.
Papua New Guinea, 300 miles off the north coast of Australia,
home to Bomana Maximum Security Prison.
Set on the edge of the jungle, just outside the capital,
Bomana is one of the poorest prisons in the world.
It has a grim reputation.
I've heard allegations of violence, corruption and mass breakouts.
And I'll be spending a week here, locked up
with some of its most dangerous criminals.
I want to know why so many men end up at Bomana.
So before I do my time,
I'm heading into the capital, Port Moresby.
A recent economic survey named it
one of the five worst places to live on Earth,
with rampant poverty, crime and gang culture.
To see what they're up against, I'm going on patrol with the local police.
[dispatcher over radio] Stolen motor vehicle.
Eight, two...Color gray.
I've been in the car for less than ten minutes,
and a report comes in that there has been a carjacking
and the potential use of a homemade firearm.
Carjackings are so common,
residents are warned not to drive at night.
Inspector Mosinikwe is a veteran of Port Moresby's mean streets.
[Mosinikwe] It is your life or the car.
They are armed. They don't give a shit.
[Rowe] Have you been shot at during a pursuit or in--
[Mosinikwe] Yeah, yeah.
-Most times. -[Rowe] Most times?
As members of Papua New Guinea's 800 tribes
have flooded into the city looking for work,
Port Moresby's population has risen by a third, to around 350,000.
[Rowe] Got another report coming in.
Four people hijacked the second car, armed with a pistol.
With rival gangs, known as raskols, battling for turf,
it's estimated there is a murder every two days.
[Mosinikwe] There is something happening up there.
[Rowe] Oh, look. They're running. The suspects are running.
I'm not sure what they were doing,
but as soon as the police vehicle pulled up beside them, they dispersed.
Many from different, often warring, tribes
end up living crammed together in slums like this.
[clamoring]
[Rowe] One of our local producers captures the moment a fight breaks out.
[clamoring continues]
[Rowe] With unemployment as high as 90%, crime is often the only way to survive.
The courts here struggle to cope, and many of those arrested tonight
could spend years locked up awaiting trial.
[siren wailing]
When suspects are detained by the police,
they end up in a caged police vehicle like this one, the one I am in now.
And they are taken to Bomana Maximum Security Prison.
And I'm not looking forward to going in there.
Bomana has over 600 inmates.
I want to find out how a prison with virtually no money
manages to function.
Go and stand out there.
[Rowe] There are rumors of food shortages, overcrowding and guard brutality.
Have you got anything to surrender to me?
-Like what? -Anything that you have. Give it to me.
I have a mobile phone.
Thank you. You got any monies there?
I have no money.
-No money? -No.
I don't like lying.
You have to tell the fact. If not, I take you to the Naked Beach.
That's the place where I'll do a strip search on you.
-[guard] Here. -In there?
The Naked Beach turns out to be this very basic open hut.
[guard] Your shirt, trousers, everything off.
Face the wall.
[Rowe] This is the most menacing strip search I've ever experienced.
[guard] Everything.
[Rowe] Getting a slap down from the check-in guard isn't just invasive,
it's downright intimidating.
Okay, you're clean.
-I can put my clothes back on? -Yes.
-Can you get aggressive towards prisoners? -I can.
Why would you get aggressive to a prisoner?
If you're ever cheeky, I'll beat you up.
What do you mean, "Belt me up"?
I'll beat you up properly and then I'll send you in.
-Physically beat me? -Physically.
Isn't that against the law, to beat someone--
It's against the law, but you have to comply with me.
If you don't, I'll get you good and proper, too.
Will you have it that way?
-No, no, no. No! -Okay.
[mouths]
[Rowe] The rest of the check-in process at Bomana feels equally basic.
No fingerprinting, no photos and no computers.
The guards made it absolutely clear.
"You fuck with us, we'll beat you up."
If that's what they're telling me at the beginning of this journey,
then it does worry me what might happen when I get inside.
I'm transferred to the main compound,
where 13 cellblocks hold over 400 of Bomana's most dangerous murderers,
armed robbers and gang members.
First impression I get is that there's no big concrete wall.
You can see the trees. It's as if they're teasing you with freedom.
[indistinct chatter]
[prisoners laughing]
I'm definitely the new prisoner here.
Everybody is out of their cellblocks, looking at me.
In this compound, over half the prisoners haven't yet been convicted of a crime.
Inmates being held on remand are kept in communal holding cells.
And that's where I'm going first.
-[guard] A1 cell committee. -[Benjamin] Yes, sir.
-Afternoon, sir. -Afternoon.
My name is Raphael.
My name is Benjamin.
[Rowe] I'm handed over to the cellblock boss,
known as the committee man.
-There. You can go in. -Okay.
Right, okay.
Go and sit there, mate.
-Can I put my things down? -Yeah, put it down.
[Rowe] So, how many of you live in this space, Benjamin?
We are 53 of us remandees living in here.
I've never seen anything like this. I really haven't.
Conditions here are truly shocking.
There's nothing here. No bunks, no mattresses,
just a meter of concrete for each prisoner.
-[Rowe] So this is the toilet and... -It's a toilet.
-...wash area? -[Benjamin] Yes.
Oh. So who's the king of the castle?
-Uh, that's where I sleep. -Oh, so you're the king of the castle!
I have my own private room.
[Rowe] You have your belongings,
and you have a couple of extra blankets that you've acquired.
-Well, this is interesting, isn't it? -Yeah.
I have to sleep among 52 guys, and you get your own room.
I've got my own room because I'm the committee of this cell.
Oh, right.
Every block has its own committee man.
In return for their special privileges, they must keep order.
Whenever there's argument or fight in this cell,
-then I got the responsibility. -Oh, right. Okay.
And is it because you are the biggest, the baddest and the toughest?
I am the committee man because I am the oldest in the... the prison.
-I've been here for some couple of ages. -Okay.
A bit like a tribal elder, the committee man is a veteran prisoner,
who has the respect of other inmates.
A repeat offender, Benjamin has been on remand for nearly two years,
awaiting trial for an armed robbery he denies.
So, the prisoners here,
what sort of offenses would these remandees have committed?
Robbery, rape, murder, uh, manslaughter.
-So it's a dangerous place. -Yeah.
And is the door locked at night?
Every day at four o'clock, we get locked up.
Until what time?
[Benjamin] The next day, about 7:30, they come. They open the cell.
-Fifteen, sixteen hours a day? -That's right. Yeah.
Oh, man, that's hard.
With lock-up time fast approaching,
I'm keen to get out of the block and have a look around.
I'm shocked to discover that while the cells may be segregated,
in this maximum-security compound,
those on remand mix freely with dangerous, convicted prisoners.
And there is barely a guard in sight.
There's a guard hut down the bottom there that's in between all of the cellblocks.
Just one station.
And sometimes it has one, maybe two, three officers in.
Um, I don't see them patrolling or anything,
and I notice they're not armed.
The guards may not be carrying weapons,
but I'm shocked to discover that some of the inmates are.
[prisoner 1] We are raskols.
[indistinct chatter]
You're a criminal now.
Him a criminal.
[Rowe] Is that a real knife?
[prisoner 2] Yeah, real knife.
[prisoners laughing]
Okay.
A real knife.
[prisoners continue laughing]
I mean, it's not unheard-of that you have real utensils and cutlery in prisons.
I didn't expect to see a real knife, though.
It's almost four o'clock, and I'm really not looking forward
to being locked up with inmates who could be armed.
[indistinct chatter]
I can't believe that they've got 53 guys in this space.
I can already feel myself getting hotter and hotter by the second,
and I've only been banged up for a couple of minutes.
One guy's already looking out, trying to get his last breath of fresh air.
In prison, it's important not to show fear,
because fear makes you vulnerable.
But you do need to show respect.
How are you doing? You have your space out here, right?
It feels a bit cooler here than it does in there.
-It's a bit cooler, right? -In the opening here.
I've done prison time, a long, long time in prison,
but I'd find this really tough to deal with.
It's inhuman treatment.
You can't just put us like this.
We are not guilty, until the court says.
The treatment that we are facing is like we are already guilty.
[Rowe] Many of Papua New Guinea's tribes, who may be at war on the outside,
are represented in the prison
and in this block.
[prisoner] He's from a different province.
He's from a different... I'm from a different province.
We call this the Ark.
-Noah's Ark. -Noah's Ark.
-Yeah. -Okay.
-[Rowe] So where's the animals? -This...
-You are the animals. -[all laughing]
-Yeah. -[Rowe] Okay.
With so many men from different tribes crammed into this one hot, airless cell,
it all seems surprisingly chilled.
[prisoner speaking Tok Pisin]
[Rowe] With no guards around,
inmates can use anything they've smuggled in.
[prisoner 2 speaking Tok Pisin]
[laughing]
-[prisoner playing guitar] -[Rowe] What's that, Benjamin?
Is that a normal cigarette?
It's a spliff, but I have to roll it up, because, uh...
You smoking that in newspaper?
Yeah, I have to roll it in newspaper, because, uh...
-You don't have Rizlas... -I got no Rizlas, so I roll in paper.
My gosh.
[prisoners singing in Tok Pisin]
[Rowe] These inmates are awaiting trial for some terrible crimes,
but in such tough conditions, you can't help but feel for them.
And as the sun's gone down, and the light's faded,
many of these guys have just disappeared into the dark.
-They've got such little light in here. -[prisoners continue singing]
[Rowe] And once the natural light is gone,
I suspect most of them will go to sleep. What else can they do?
This is a hard prison sentence, and these guys haven't even been convicted.
At 7:30 a.m., more than 15 hours after being shut in,
the cells doors are unlocked.
[bell clanging]
[Rowe] Over the years, Bomana has seen mass breakouts
of up to 65 inmates at a time.
To check no one has escaped during the night,
the prison guards hold a roll call every morning.
What is... Whose bird is that?
How come they've got a friend?
[guard doing roll call]
[softly] I've never seen anything like this before in any prison.
Where they have all of the prisoners out at the same time.
There are so few guards, if the inmates wanted to,
they could easily overpower them and make their escape into the jungle.
-A1! -One.
-Two. -Three.
-Four. -Five.
-Six. -Seven.
-[Rowe] Nineteen. -Twenty.
[Benjamin] I usually send my boys to go get my tea.
[Rowe] Next, it's breakfast, which consists of a cup of tea
and a single biscuit ration.
[prisoner 1] Group one, have some biscuit.
-[prisoner 2] Group one. -[prisoner 1] Okay, group two.
[Rowe] Cell boss Benjamin watches to make sure
no one takes more than their fair share.
-In England, we call them cream crackers. -[indistinct chatter]
-They're the driest biscuits. -Yeah.
They dry your throat, right?
Where's your biscuit?
-Uh, I had my biscuit in there. -Okay.
Benjamin has been in and out of Bomana since the 1980s
and clearly commands respect from the other inmates.
So, as well as being the head of your dormitory here,
you're, uh, an influential figure outside as well?
Yeah, that's right. That's right.
I am the gang leader. We call ourselves Thirteen Casino.
We do armed robberies, break and enter, you know? Any sort of crime.
That's why I have been going in and out of prison.
People respect you outside because of your criminal history?
That's right.
[Rowe] Benjamin's reputation is fueled by his prolific attempts to escape Bomana.
So, you were the first prisoner to escape from here
since they put this bigger fence and dome on the top of it?
That's right. We climb up the power pole.
-The power pole? -[Benjamin] Yeah.
And then swing onto the power line, and then out into the open air.
So, how many times in total have you escaped from prison?
I've been escaping from prison most of my life.
[Rowe] Next up today is cleaning of the cell,
and Benjamin assigns me to floor sweeping duties.
So, do I get a broom?
We don't have brooms. Our brooms, they're worn out.
But you're gonna have this.
-Oh, this is your broom? -Yes.
-[prisoner 1] We use rags. -[Benjamin] Rags to sweep the floor.
[indistinct chatter]
[chuckles] Okay. Okay, this is a first.
The prison is so poor, they don't even have the most basic cleaning equipment.
Actually, it picks up a lot of dust, doesn't it?
He's attacking it.
You're attacking it, right? You're getting exercise at the same time.
These guys might be from different tribes or gangs,
but in this place, they have to work together just to get by.
-Okay, so what do I do next? -[prisoner 1] Cell wash.
[Rowe] Where's the water, Ben?
Do you want to show me where they fill the water up?
-Yeah, outside, outside. -Outside.
Showing me the ropes is Sivre,
who's been stuck here on remand for over four years.
[Sivre] Yes. That's right.
Something as simple as a running tap would make life just a little bit easier,
but they don't have the water pressure or a running tap.
They have to fill a bucket like this,
put it into a drum, and do it again and again and again.
-It's not easy. It's heavy. -Yes, it's heavy.
-Into here? -Yes, into here.
[Rowe] You've been here for more than four years?
-[Sivre] Yes. -You're still waiting to go on trial?
No, my trial has already been finished,
but I'm still waiting for "guilty" or "not guilty."
I have been waiting for my decision for...
about, uh, two years.
-No way! Really? -Yes.
-And what was the crime? -Uh, willful murder.
But I haven't did the crime.
-So you're saying you're innocent? -I'm innocent, of course.
-So you could be found not guilty? -Yes.
And you could go home. But you would have spent four years in prison already?
Yes.
[Rowe] In Papua New Guinea, the courts are so clogged up
that these guys can be left stuck in limbo for years.
So much for "innocent until proven guilty."
-Okay? -Okay. Thank you.
[Rowe sighs]
[guard over PA] Benjamin Haro, you are wanted for court.
Can you report to reception?
[Rowe] Benjamin's been trapped here for two years, waiting to see a judge.
Today, he's finally got a hearing.
I have to go down for my bail hearing. My... my name has been paged.
I heard it. Yeah, well, good luck. I hope, um...
If you deserve to get bail, then I hope you get bail.
I hope I don't see you again. That's the right thing to say, right?
-[Benjamin laughs] -That's the nice thing to say.
-I hope I don't see you again. -I like that.
-Good. Good luck. -Thank you, Raph.
[Rowe] Even if Benjamin gets his bail, he could be waiting years for a trial,
never mind a verdict.
At Bomana, those on remand are left with nothing to do.
They're not allowed prison jobs,
and with virtually no program of activities or education,
inmates here must take the initiative and fend for themselves.
In a bid to make their own entertainment,
these guys have even formed a drama group.
-I search him. Okay. -You search him.
-[Rowe] They've given me a starring role. -You knife him.
You knife him. Okay.
[prisoner 1] Policemen, stand by.
You come now.
[indistinct chatter]
[Rowe] Today, they are drawing on their own experiences
to improvise a scene on a subject close to their hearts...
[prisoners speaking Tok Pisin]
[Rowe] ...police brutality.
[prisoners continue speaking]
[prisoner 2] Get up. Get up. Get up.
Stand up!
They were not pulling their punches.
I was properly kicked and punched.
The four guys attempt to rob someone.
They get caught by the police.
And they get beat by the police.
[prisoner 3] Turn over.
Hurry up. Go.
[Rowe] The police here may be violent...
but these guys do seem to be ignoring the fact
that they were committing an armed robbery.
Thank you.
Quite a few prisoners are watching what just took place,
and I suppose all of them are remembering a moment in their own life.
I can see Benjamin coming back from... from his day in court.
So it either means he's coming to collect his belongings because he's got bail
or he hasn't.
-Benjamin, how you doing? -Hey. Hello, Raph.
I just... I just came back from the court.
-I can see that. -I went for down for my court case, and...
they, uh, grant me bail, so I--
-They granted you bail? No way! -Yeah, that's right.
I've got goose pimples,
because I was expecting you to come back and say, "No bail,"
-because that's all I hear. -Man, I was so surprised.
I'm happy to go home and see my family and my children,
and to be with them, you know?
-So, if you've got bail... -Yeah.
...why are you not kind of sprinting, getting your stuff and jogging back out,
and saying, "Adiós, prisoners. I'm going home"?
That was in my young days. I'm getting old for that.
-All right. -I'm waiting now.
My family have to bail at the courtroom.
-Oh, did they have to pay for your bail? -Yeah.
[Rowe] But with his bail set at $300,
there's no guarantee Benjamin's family will be able to pay it.
I can imagine that's a huge amount for a family to pull together,
but he has hope right now.
And sometimes, in prison, that's all you really have, hope.
Benjamin, like most of those on remand here,
may not be going home any time soon.
♪ Holy Spirit, come, come touch me ♪
♪ Touch me ♪
♪ Holy Spirit, come touch me ♪
[Rowe] Another day comes to an end,
and I'm left feeling shocked by what I've seen so far inside Bomana.
Tomorrow, I'm being moved out of the remand block,
but for those left behind, it's a bleak and uncertain future.
[prisoners continue singing]
Early next morning, I'm transferred to maximum security,
where the prisoners have actually been found guilty
and convicted of a crime.
After the appalling conditions I've experienced so far,
I've no idea what to expect.
But I'm in luck. I've been assigned to the so-called VIP cell.
Hi, Hubert. I'm Raphael.
Hubert is the committee man for this exclusive block.
-How many of you are in this cell? -[Hubert] Twenty eight.
-[Rowe] Twenty eight? -Twenty eight men.
-That's half the number of those in A1. -Yeah.
Soldiers, policemen, the parliamentarians, businessmen...
-They all stay here. -[Rowe] Okay.
-And, uh, very high profile people. -Ah.
-[Rowe] You guys have bunks. -[Hubert] Exactly.
But even these beds, they don't have mattresses, do they?
[Hubert] They only give us two blankets, and that's it.
One for bed and one for covering.
We are prisoners, you know. We're punished for what we do.
[Rowe] Still, this is five-star luxury compared to my time on remand.
Unlike those on remand, convicted prisoners can have jobs.
One of the very few available is to cook the lunch,
and Hubert has told me to help out.
This is a basic prison of basic prisons.
I mean, this is their kitchen.
This is not electric or gas fires. You're talking some old fire drums.
They have to do everything themselves.
I mean, chop wood, collect wood, put it in here.
To chop the firewood for the kitchens,
these dangerous prisoners are allowed to wield potentially lethal axes.
With only a handful of unarmed guards in the compound, it just seems crazy.
What man doesn't like playing with fire?
This is our friend, Goldberth.
How you doing, Goldberth?
I knew I'd be useful, you know. Give me a flame and a bit of wood,
and I'll start a fire.
My fire's going good here,
but it looks like I'm burning the drum more than the water.
[prisoners chuckle]
[coughing]
Big responsibility today.
I could be the talk for weeks.
You know, "This Westerner came in, did a bit of time with us,
cooked our rice and messed it up."
How long have you been doing this rice cooking, Goldberth?
-Two years. -And do you get paid to do this?
No, no.
[Rowe] Okay, so, here it is.
[prisoner 1] Rice, yeah.
[prisoner 2] Two bags for lunch.
-Two bags for 446 people? -Yeah.
There is a skill to this, because they only get one crack at this,
and if they get it wrong, somebody might not get fed today.
While the rice is cooking, I take the chance to talk to Goldberth.
On the outside, he was a baker.
Now, he's five years into a 45-year sentence
for killing his two bosses.
[in Tok Pisin] They were arguing with me and wanted to fight with me.
So I defended myself.
I took their own knife from their hands, and I killed them.
How old were you when you killed these two men?
[in English] Seventeen years old.
You stabbed them?
[in Tok Pisin] At their necks, I killed them, both of them.
[Rowe] You must've been really angry.
I mean, for a 17-year-old to cut the throats of two...
two people...
Can you describe how you was feeling at the time?
It was a mistake. I did not mean to kill them.
I think about it like this.
If they had got the knife first, they would've killed me.
I would be dead now.
[Rowe] I try to look in the eyes of my fellow inmates
to find out whether they are a threat,
whether they can use the status of their crime
as a means to intimidate other prisoners.
And he had the face of somebody that you would fear.
He has quite a desperate look about him.
It's 11:00 a.m., and over 400 inmates are waiting for their first meal of the day.
[in Tok Pisin] Guys, just one person stand in front.
Give some room.
You're too crowded.
You're making it difficult for us.
[prisoner 1 in Tok Pisin] Give space. Give space.
[Rowe] The hungry prisoners are already getting restless,
so I better get this right.
-That's enough. -Enough?
Yes.
-But this is for one man, right? -Yes.
I've been overfeeding them. I've been told to reduce my... my output.
This rice is the only cooked food the prison provides.
It's supplemented with tins of meat or fish, handed out in the morning.
You fast, fast.
-Fast? I can't go any faster. -[Goldberth groans]
-[speaks indistinctly] -Break.
This is a fast operation. I've been pushed to the side for a minute.
Look at him. He's working at a speed. Me...
Bowls, plates, plastic containers...
They're coming through this little hatch half full of just rice, nothing healthy.
-I mean, what would it take... -[indistinct chatter]
...to add a carrot or some green vegetables with this rice?
-Is this all that's left? -[Goldberth] It's finished now.
-Once it's finished... -[Rowe] What happens to these guys?
-[prisoner 2] No rice now. Finished. -They don't get fed?
No.
They're gonna wait for afternoon rice now.
Does this happen all the time? You come, and if you're last, you don't get fed?
Yes.
-Yeah. -So what will you eat now for lunch?
-Drink water and... -[prisoner 3] Eat some biscuits.
[prisoner 2] We've been used to it, so we just...
Being used to it? I'd be angry if I wasn't getting fed.
When I was inside,
there'd have been a riot if the prison couldn't afford to feed us.
But these guys seem completely resigned to their desperate situation.
Goldberth offers to show me how prisoners survive on these meager rations.
Seed, seed.
So what are you growing here?
[in Tok Pisin] Greens.
I ate them all last month.
When the seeds are ready, I will plant new ones again.
Can prisoners' families and relatives bring in vegetables for them to cook?
[in English] No.
You're not entitled to any luxury food?
[in Tok Pisin] Inside the prison, it is forbidden.
Here there is only rice.
I'm fed up. I'm so tired of eating rice.
Do lots of prisoners have little plots
where they grow little green stuff and bits of vegetables?
We are allowed to grow food, but not everyone does.
If some prisoners don't have, we share ours.
[Rowe] Once again, it seems that inmates here,
who may be enemies on the outside,
help each other out because it's the only way to survive Bomana's harsh conditions.
With this obvious shortage of food,
I'm surprised to hear that, outside the compound fences,
the prison has its very own farm.
A few trusted inmates have been given special permission to work here.
-So you all work in this farm? -Yes.
You've got pigs, you've got horses, you've got cows.
What's the purpose of having the farm in the prison?
[in Tok Pisin] We rear the animals to sell.
On some special occasions, like Christmas Eve,
we butcher some and give the meat to the prisoners.
[Rowe] I am genuinely shocked.
This farm really should be providing food for the malnourished inmates
all year round.
This is the perfect place to grow loads of vegetables and fruit,
but the real reason the inmates have been put here quickly becomes obvious.
[Hubert in English] Quite a big, big area.
-[Rowe] Okay. -[Hubert] Yes.
Go right.
[Rowe] Why do you carry the bush knives?
[in Tok Pisin] This is for protection.
There are no guards here, so the prisoners guard the institution's livestock.
If people come to steal the animals, when they see this knife,
they won't come here.
And would you use that to defend the animals?
[in English] Yes.
[Rowe] Machetes, axes and knives, all in the hands of hungry prisoners,
overseen by just a handful of guards.
[indistinct chatter]
[Rowe] You'd expect there to be more trouble,
but, as in prisons the world over,
order is maintained by those with the toughest reputations.
Here, that means gang bosses and committee men like Hubert.
Who is higher in here?
In here, the gang leaders, the big boys... We call them big boys, okay?
Those are the guys that you respect.
Fear them or respect them?
No, no, no, you don't fear them. You respect them.
And, uh, guys who have been convicted for more,
the life sentences and death penalties,
you've got to respect them.
Because of the time they're going to spend...
Because most of their time is going to be spent here.
[Rowe] Hubert earned his reputation by being involved
in the biggest heist in Papua New Guinea history,
an armed robbery worth nearly $2 million.
What did you do? Stick 'em up with guns?
That's right.
We just did a very clean job.
We never shot anybody. Uh, we never hurt anybody.
Did the police recover all the money?
Yeah, they did some.
-But not all? -Not all.
You say with a twinkle in your eye, and you smile. In fact, you laugh.
Given not all the money was recovered,
there will be prisoners here who think Hubert has lots of money out there.
Doesn't that put your... your life in danger?
Yeah, yeah.
But we came in a very big group, and we have friends who were also in here.
So we had support from them to protect us.
As the main man in the committee, when two guys...
want to come to blows, do you have to physically break it up?
Yeah, we do it. I do it.
[prisoners arguing indistinctly]
So, if...
What's wrong with them?
-They're fighting. -They're fighting?
We're talking about fighting, and there's guys fighting.
-I thought I heard a blow just then. -Yeah.
[prisoners continue arguing]
So, what just happened in there is not your block?
It's not mine, no.
-That's some other committee? -It's those who live in here.
So the guy that runs this one
-has to deal with this now. -Yeah, exactly.
[Rowe] When a fight is too big for the committee man to sort out,
the guards are called in.
Violent inmates are thrown into the prison's isolation unit.
-[prisoner 1] A handshake here. -All right, okay.
-Who am I shaking hands with? -David.
You're David?
So, what did you do to end up in this cage?
[David] I punched someone.
-Hard? -Twice.
Do you regret punching the other guy?
-No. -No.
So, let me ask you, you're in here for punching someone,
are you in prison for punching someone?
No, I'm in prison for... murder.
-Is it hard in there? -It is.
But this detention is a bit cooler than the cells.
-You have more oxygen, right? -More oxygen, yeah.
Is that one of the reasons you do it?
-[David laughs] -Yeah?
-What have you got in there? No bed? -No.
-No electricity? -No.
Uh, in the night, it's total darkness.
[Rowe] David's punishment is a month in solitary.
Getting out for even an hour a day is at the discretion of the guards,
and to survive, he relies on other inmates to bring him food.
The pit, the cage, the hole... Whatever you want to call it, it serves...
It serves the same purpose.
I've seen isolation units. I've experienced isolation units.
And this is as bad as they get.
When you end up in the hole, you gain a certain status in the prison.
But, as Hubert told me,
it's those serving the toughest or longest sentences that command the most respect.
Nothing is tougher than a death sentence,
and one of Bomana's 12 death row inmates has agreed to speak to me about his crime.
-How you doing? Raphael. -I'm okay.
[Rowe] Sedoki is in for a particularly barbaric murder.
So I heard you've been in prison a very long time?
[in Tok Pisin] I've been here for 12 years.
And I heard that your crime had something to do with witchcraft?
I killed a witch.
This woman we killed had killed many men in our community.
The authorities came to do mediation in the community,
but the witch wouldn't stop.
What we saw was not right, so I killed the witch woman.
[Rowe] Every year, hundreds of suspected witches and sorcerers
are killed in Papua New Guinea in brutal tribal witch hunts.
How did you kill her?
[in Tok Pisin] We cut her with a machete.
Because she killed my mother and my father.
I was angry and grieving, and that's why I killed her.
You believe she killed your mother and your father?
[in English] Yes.
How old was you when you did this?
Sixteen.
[in Tok Pisin] My younger brother and I committed the crime.
How old was your small brother at the time?
[in English] Twelve years.
-He was 12 years old? -Yes.
[in Tok Pisin] My small brother died in 2016.
His body was sent back home, and now I'm here by myself.
Because of your beliefs in sorcery and witchcraft,
is that a problem with other tribal cultures in this prison?
[in Tok Pisin] No...
because I have been given the death penalty.
The others respect us death-penalty inmates like we are rightful landowners.
They do not fight with us. We're okay.
[prisoners arguing indistinctly]
[Rowe] Suddenly, our interview is interrupted.
The second time today, there are another couple of guys having an argument.
Looks like they've already squared up to each other.
Sedoki steps in.
It could escalate, and we are locked in here.
It makes your heart race a bit.
Here it goes. Here it goes.
[prisoners continue arguing]
They're actually physically starting to fight each other.
Sedoki uses his influence as a death-penalty inmate
to calm the situation.
It seems to have quietened down, I think.
I've spent the last few days experiencing the shocking conditions for prisoners.
Now, it's time to see things from the guard's perspective.
I'm heading out on perimeter patrol with Philip,
who's worked here for 20 years.
-Afternoon. -Good afternoon.
I've not seen any officers inside the prison with weapons.
Why do you have a weapon?
We only carry weapons outside the perimeter fence.
[Rowe] If inmates escape,
the perimeter guards are under orders to shoot to kill.
[Philip] This is one of our guard posts.
-And is there someone in there 24/7? -Of course.
Why do you think so many prisoners have escaped from here in the past?
[Philip] It's always a lack of security.
How many staff are on duty at any given time?
-[Philip] Twenty prison officers. -[Rowe] For 600 prisoners?
Yup.
In a maximum security prison? That's shocking. That's so low.
But we can't do much.
[Rowe] Philip takes me to the most vulnerable area of the fence.
In many of the escapes, guard corruption has been a factor.
A very big issue here currently, in Bomana prison, and over the years,
is a prison guard smuggling the bolt cutter into the prison
and give it to the prisoner.
Prison guards who have been bribed?
[Philip] Of course.
Normally, they cut through the fence like this.
And they rip this one off,
and they make their way out this way and go.
[Rowe] Well, this is pretty obvious, isn't it?
We can see it's a completely different color.
And it looks like it's been welded back on.
That's another one there.
Another there, which is...
Another one there.
-[Philip] Yeah. -[Rowe] Oh, my God.
This is becoming, like, spot the place they haven't escaped.
-Thirty-five escaped from this place. -Thirty-five?
-There's another one there. -[Philip laughing]
I mean... What are you laughing... That is...
Do you remember how many got out of there?
-Sixty-five. -Sixty-five!
So we're not talking about the odd little break out. We're talking about--
[Philip] Big break outs.
And do these 65 prisoners that break out,
or 55 or 40 or however many, are they ever captured?
Only few.
This mass breakout, we shot only three prisoners dead, this one.
-Only three were shot dead? -Only three were shot dead, this one.
Okay.
With guards paid less than $500 a month,
they are unlikely to risk following escapees into the jungle.
[Philip] If a prisoner makes an escape somewhere around this place,
when they make their way into the bush, man, it's so hard to get them in there.
[Rowe] Is there anything dangerous in there?
-There's a lot of snakes. -Snakes.
-Killer snakes? Okay. -Deadly snakes. Very deadly.
They just bite you like this. After three minutes, you are gone.
Papuan Blacks.
[Rowe] Wow. So if the prisoners beat the gate and the fence
-they could get killed by a snake? -Of course.
[Rowe] And if the escapees don't get caught in the jungle
by the Papuan Blacks,
there are wild dogs, deadly spiders and crocodiles.
Prisoners are understandably desperate to escape maximum security.
But just a few hundred meters away is the minimum security unit, or MSU,
where inmates are trusted not to run away.
This is where prisoners are meant to be prepared for reintegration
back into life on the outside.
[David] Good morning, gentlemen.
I'm David Pondros.
I'm told this is where prisoners who behave themselves,
and I've been very well-behaved,
progress... to this, um, very different-looking place...
is what I'm seeing right now. It's immaculate.
I'm told this compound was paid for by the Australian government,
and it couldn't feel more different to the rest of the prison.
-It's much more organized than over there. -Yes.
[David] This is almost like you are already home.
-Well, I wouldn't go that far, David. -Yeah. [chuckles]
[Rowe] A member of the country's business elite,
David Pondros is serving 13 years
for misappropriating over $1.8 million of government funds.
And this reminds you where you are, right?
[David] That's right. This reminds you you are a prisoner.
[Rowe] As a low-risk white-collar criminal,
David left max security after just a year and a half.
So, how many sleep in this cell?
-[David] Twelve of us. -[Rowe] Twelve of you.
Here, we say you are coming to a promised land.
That's what prisoners always say.
[Rowe] It just has a cooler feeling about it.
It's like, when you arrive here from over there,
a huge burden is lifted from you, the burden of surviving.
-[David] Hmm-hmm. -[Rowe] You feel tense over there.
-You're always on your guard. -It's a bit frightening there.
[Rowe] In a prison like Bomana,
there are clear advantages to being a well-educated criminal.
Most of these parole officers here,
their qualification is very low.
They don't know how to write reports.
Some of these reports, we prisoners, we ourselves write them.
-You write your own parole report? -We write our own report.
And the wardens just sign.
So I could potentially write my own report to say how fantastic a person I am,
and pass that on to the officer who will take it to the parole board?
Yeah.
[Rowe] The guards' laid-back approach doesn't end there.
It's really incredible that I'm kind of in a prison
but can just walk out. I'm pushing this gate open.
I'm told all I've got to do is report to the main-gate guard
that I'm going out, and off I go.
How long have I got?
We... we...
You just go there, you finish your work, and come back.
-Okay. -There's no restriction.
-No restriction. -What if I want to come back at midnight?
[Rowe and David laugh]
[Rowe] Conditions in the MSU seem a world away from the rest of the prison,
and I'm excited to hear
that there is whole area nearby designed for rehabilitation.
-This is the industrial area. -Okay.
You have the carpentry here. You have the welding shop here.
You have the electrical and mechanical.
[Rowe] It sounds fantastic.
And 40 years ago, it probably was.
-[thunder rumbling] -[rain pattering]
I'm told that this used to be a thriving workshop,
a place where things were made.
Prisoners were trained in a skill that they could take outside
and probably use for employment.
Now, it's empty. All of the equipment here is rusty and broken.
It seems such a shame that they can't utilize it
because the government have not put any funds into this area for many years.
[David] This is another part of this industrial area
where they rehabilitate prisoners, but it's to do with mechanical workshops.
[Rowe] It's not open at the moment?
It's supposed to, but I think the duty officer is not in.
You use the term "rehabilitate prisoners."
Do you really believe that's what's happening here?
It's not working.
[Rowe] It's just a name.
[David] Nothing is happening, as you can see.
The prisoners are willing to work,
but the officers come in the morning. They just checked in,
and after that 30, 40 minutes, they already gone.
Like now, we don't have the officer here.
[Rowe] This is so frustrating.
Guards who don't turn up, prisoners locked out,
and most of the equipment not working.
The authorities here fail to fund any meaningful rehabilitation.
Before I leave, I want to put some questions
to the head of the prison, Commander Kiddy Keko,
who's been in charge since 2013.
I was quite shocked by the conditions
of the convicted maximum security and remand block.
These guys are being kept in a concrete slab.
Why is that? Why are the conditions in there so harsh?
There is a lot of talk within our levels and within my office as well,
trying to make a change and help improve the conditions,
just to maintain them and bring them to a standard that is acceptable.
Like ventilation, so that they can have enough fresh air going through,
uh, but it's an issue of finding funding.
Why... why is there a restriction on the amount of food these guys can have?
Some guys had no rice.
Why do they not get vegetables with their food? Carrots or peas?
Why do they not get potatoes and stuff like that?
We have standard and prescribed balanced diet provisions in our legislation,
but it's just the resources. We have a lot of challenges,
and we need to take them out and do gardening,
which is going to be a major project for us next year.
Okay. And that will allow them
-to grow their own vegetables? -Yes. That's right.
Or vegetables that can feed the rest of the prisoners, like in other prisons?
That's what we're gonna do.
Our job is to look after them, reform them,
make them better people to go back to society.
And also, rehabilitate them.
There seems to be this huge industrial zone,
-that's not being utilized. -Yes.
Why are they not being put to the use they could be put to,
to rehabilitate even more prisoners?
I don't know why, but government, especially our ministry,
has always spoken about rehabilitation of prisoners,
but they have not put their money where their mouth is.
I've already gone into discussion with a public-private partnership.
We're going to run these industries in areas that you saw,
so that we can make money for correctional services.
I'm looking at it that next five years,
we would have done something to improve all that and make a change here.
[Rowe] I hope Commander Keko sticks to his promises
and improves the appalling conditions here.
But until he does,
inmates will have to continue making the best of their desperate situation
and will remain dependent on each other just to survive.
[sighs]
That's the end of my time in Bomana.
Despite the lack of funding
and the desperate need to modernize this prison,
there's something odd about this place.
It's the first prison I've been to where prisoners take the initiative.
At Bomana, hardened, often violent criminals
put aside their ethnic differences and gang loyalties to support each other,
as if they belonged to one tribe.