Why the royal treatment for rich suspects?

I disagree with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima that it is worth keeping alleged pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles in a separate and special detention facility because there is a possibility that in the future she might tell everything she knows about the pork barrel scam (“Extra cost of Napoles detention worth it, says De Lima,” News, 3/8/14).

As an ordinary citizen, I go for Sen. Francis Escudero’s suggestion: to put Napoles in an ordinary jail, whose insalubrious, if not “life-threatening,” environment may yet force her to squeal.

I am a good taxpayer, and I am mad that taxes are being spent to provide special treatment for someone accused of stealing tax money. Why not use the money instead to make more decent the conditions in our jails?

With Napoles being given a special treatment, it’s as if the government is telling us that if you are accused of a crime and you happen to be poor, woe to you because you will be put in a squalid prison. But if you are rich, never mind that you have stolen billions of pesos from the people, you can be assured you will be treated like royalty.

So this is how my taxes are spent.

—LUIS G. ASUNCION,

[email protected]