Penal reform in an Asian country (5)
I believe the answer is:
nepal
'an asian country' is the definition.
(Nepal is an example)
'penal reform' is the wordplay.
'reform' indicates anagramming the letters.
'penal' anagrammed gives 'NEPAL'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for nepal that I've seen before include "Mountainous country" , "Himalayan kingdom" , "World's only Hindu kingdom" , "Himalayan country" , "former kingdom" .)