House Commission III Requests Suspension of Detention for Videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu
House Commission III of the Indonesian Parliament has submitted a request for the suspension of detention for videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu, who is entangled in an alleged corruption case regarding the production of village profile videos in Karo Regency, North Sumatra.
This statement is based on conclusions drawn from a meeting following a general hearing of all Commission III factions with Amsal Sitepu, who attended online, at Nusantara II, DPR RI, Jakarta, on Monday (30/3).
“Commission III of the DPR RI requests that Mr Amsal Christy Sitepu be granted detention suspension with Commission III of the DPR RI as guarantor,” said Chairman of Commission III DPR Habiburokhman when reading out the meeting conclusions.
In addition, Commission III DPR reminded law enforcement agencies to prioritise substantive justice over mere formalism, in line with the mandate of Article 53 paragraph 2 of the new Criminal Code. Commission III DPR highlighted errors in evaluating creative work outcomes in this case.
According to Commission III, elements of creative work such as idea creation, concept development, editing processes, cutting, and dubbing do not have a fixed standard price and cannot be unilaterally valued at “zero rupiah”.
“Creative work by videographers does not have a fixed standard price, so it cannot be said that there is mark-up from a standard price. This is intellectual work that cannot be unilaterally valued at zero rupiah,” said Habiburokhman.
Regarding the estimated state loss value of Rp202 million in this case, Commission III DPR urged that the legal orientation not focus solely on imprisonment. Commission III DPR encouraged that anti-corruption efforts be directed towards maximising the recovery of state financial losses.
“In the case of Mr Amsal Christy Sitepu with a state financial loss value of Rp202 million, the objectives of law enforcement would be better achieved if from the outset, the return of state losses is maximised,” said Habiburokhman.
Furthermore, Commission III called on the Judges’ Council to consider an acquittal or at least a light sentence for Amsal Christy Sitepu based on trial facts. This is deemed important so that legal decisions do not set a bad precedent that stifles the creative industry climate in Indonesia.
The DPR referred to Article 5 paragraph 2 of Law Number 48 of 2009 on Judicial Power, which requires judges to explore and understand legal values and the sense of justice living in society, including for creative workers.