Attorney General's Office Clarifies Amsal Case Not Criminalisation but Manipulation

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has clarified that the case involving Amsal Sitepu, a videographer from Karo Regency in North Sumatra, does not concern the criminalisation of skills or abilities. The AGO assured that Amsal is being brought to court as a defendant due to allegations of budget manipulation. Head of Public Relations and Advocacy at the AGO, Anang Supriatna, stated that Amsal is being prosecuted for causing state losses of up to Rp202 million (Rp202,161,980). “The viral case currently on trial is that of Amsal Christy Sitepu; yesterday’s agenda was the prosecution, and now it’s the verdict. The total state loss is around Rp202 million. Like that,” Anang said during a press conference in Jakarta on Monday (30/3). “What is the modus operandi? It’s not about skills or abilities, but in the Bill of Quantities [RAB - Rencana Anggaran Biaya] for activities, for example, for renting a drone for 30 days, but the research results show it was only carried out for 12 days, yet paid in full. Something like that,” he continued. In addition, Anang highlighted the inflation (mark-up) of the RAB in the video production process, which he said was done by Amsal’s side. “Then costs for editing and so on were already budgeted but doubled again like that, which was obtained. So one of several modus operandi like that, in the RAB,” he said. “And this is village funds for rural people. Village heads aren’t too knowledgeable; according to investigators, the RAB comes from the contractors themselves. Meanwhile, the activities were not fully carried out as per the RAB; that’s the problem,” he added. Previously, Amsal Sitepu was prosecuted for two years in prison for allegedly marking up the production of village profile videos in Karo Regency for the 2020-2022 Fiscal Years by Rp202,161,980. In this case, Amsal is the sole defendant. In the prosecution hearing at the Medan District Court, Prosecutor Wira Arizona stated that Amsal was proven to have inflated the budget (mark-up) in the village profile video production project in Karo Regency for the 2020 to 2022 Fiscal Years. The prosecutor asked the panel of judges to impose a two-year prison sentence on Amsal. In addition to the prison term, the defendant was also demanded to pay a fine of Rp50 million subsidiary three months’ imprisonment. Not only that, Amsal was also burdened with paying restitution for state losses of Rp202,161,980. If not paid, it will be replaced with one year in prison. In the indictment, Amsal, who also serves as Director of CV Promiseland, worked on the village profile video production project in Karo Regency. The programme was funded from village funds. Amsal was deemed to have enriched himself by Rp202,161,980, which became a state loss based on an audit by the Karo Regency Inspectorate. This case has attracted national attention, leading Commission III of the DPR to hold a General Hearing (RDPU) regarding the Amsal case in Jakarta on Monday.