THE soft sobbing of the two women was heard emanating from a cell in Blok F of Punggolaka State Penitentiary, Kendari, Central Sulawesi. Occasionally verbal abuse, unclear who or what the intended recipient was, was heard from Dewi Yati Tamburaka and Melinda Ritonga. From behind the bars, one could see their bloodshot eyes.

They are not just any old detainees. Dewi, 46, and Melinda, 45, are members of the Kendari Regional House of Representa