Escapes, murders and riots. Five years ago Bomana prison in Papua New Guinea was said to be a corner of hell. But the new prison commander, Kiddy Keko, has managed to restore order, and has devised a new version of a tropical penitentiary. “A bucket of urine mixed with soap used to be the cocktail served up to welcome prisoners,” recalls Joe Talara who has been in Bomana prison since 1996. “We’d kill one another, and just had one goal, and that was to escape.” Bomana prison was built in the 1960s, and the inmates include many murderers, rapists, thieves and gang members (sometimes one person qualifies as all four). According to Crime Index figures, Papua New Guinea, north of Australia, has the second highest crime rate in the world. The prison, which is ten kilometers from the capital, Port Moresby, has three units: maximum security, minimum security, and women, with a total of 700 inmates divided into two categories: prisoners who have been tried and found guilty, dressed in dark blue, and detainees in pre-trial custody, wearing light blue.