Videographer Amsal Sitepu Case: Creating Village Profiles, Charged with Corruption
A videographer from Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Amsal Sitepu, is in the spotlight after undergoing legal proceedings for alleged corruption related to a project producing village profile videos in his area.
On 20 February, Amsal was sentenced to two years in prison for suspected corruption that harmed state finances by Rp202,161,980. He was also ordered to pay restitution of Rp50 million, or face an additional three months in prison if unpaid.
Commission III of the House of Representatives is scheduled to hold an audience to discuss the case on Monday (30/3). Chairman of Commission III, Habiburokhman, considers the case ensnaring Amsal to be odd.
As a creative worker without a fixed fee limit, Amsal, according to Habib, is accused of inflating the village profile production project in Karo Regency.
“Amsal Sitepu, a videographer, is accused of budget inflation (mark-up) for village promotional video services. However, videography work is creative labour whose price does not have a certain standard,” he stated on Sunday (29/3).
According to the indictment, cited from detikcom, Amsal is the Director of CV. Promiseland, which received the project to create profiles for several villages in Karo Regency, North Sumatra.
These villages are spread across four sub-districts, namely Tiganderket Sub-district, Tigabinanga Sub-district, Tigapanah Sub-district, and Namanteran Sub-district.
According to the prosecutor in the indictment, Amsal is deemed to have carried out a mark-up or inflation of funds after setting the budget at Rp30 million for the village profile series. The funds came from the village fund budget.
However, according to the prosecutor, this amount does not match the planned budget cost (RAB).
Amsal’s project is deemed to violate Minister of Home Affairs Regulation Number 20 of 2018 on Village Financial Management, Article 2 Paragraph (1), which states that village finances are managed based on the principles of transparency, accountability, participation, and carried out orderly and with budget discipline.
Recent audit results indicate state financial losses from the alleged calculation of state financial losses amounting to Rp202,161,980.
Amsal has denied carrying out budget mark-up in the project he undertook. As a creative worker, he claims he has no authority to inflate the budget.
“Our country is not doing well, sir. I am just a creative economy worker. I am a professional videographer, I am charged with budget mark-up. How can a service provider carry out budget mark-up?” Amsal said, as seen from the TikTok account of Amsal and Lovia, on Sunday (29/3).
Amsal’s case is currently still in the trial process, after the prosecution sentencing on 20 February. The trial continues with the verdict agenda to be held on 1 April 2026.