Karo Chief Prosecutor Reveals Reasons for Charging Amsal Sitepu with Alleged Mark-Up

The Head of the Karo Regency Prosecutor’s Office in North Sumatra, Danke Rajagukguk, revealed the reasons for charging videographer Amsal Sitepu in the village profile video serial project in the region. Danke attended a public hearing (RDPU) of Commission III of the DPR to discuss the case on Thursday (2/4). According to Danke, Amsal did not inflate the budget in the project but rather engaged in mark-up. “The reason for designating Mr Amsal as a suspect is the argument that he inflated prices. With permission, this may not be inflation, but certainly mark-up,” Danke stated in his presentation. Furthermore, according to him, Amsal allegedly asked the village heads in Karo Regency to prepare a budget plan (RAB) for equipment rental for the 30-day project. However, court facts showed that several pieces of equipment were used for less than the planned days. “Thus, the expert concluded that the rental payment should be according to the actual implementation time,” Danke said. Secondly, Danke stated that Amsal was deemed to have overlapped budgets in the project. For example, the project design video production budget was Rp9 million. However, Amsal introduced new budget items such as editing, cutting, and dubbing, each at Rp1 million. “According to the expert, editing, cutting, and dubbing are the same as video design production, so cutting, editing, and dubbing are considered losses,” Danke explained. In response, Amsal, who was present at the meeting, expressed disappointment because several of his work items were not appreciated, such as editing, dubbing, and video ideas. For a creative worker, unacknowledged ideas are an insult. “Because when ideas are not recognised, it’s not just a crime, it’s an insult to a work,” Amsal said. Amsal has been acquitted in the case. The Medan District Court panel of judges, on Wednesday (1/4), declared Amsal not proven guilty of mark-up in the production of village profile videos in Karo Regency for the 2020-2022 Fiscal Year amounting to Rp202,161,980. “Having adjudged, the defendant Amsal is not proven legally and convincingly guilty of the acts as charged primarily and subsidiarily by the public prosecutor,” stated the panel chaired by Mohammad Yusafrihardi Girsang.