MEDAN, LITERASIHUKUM.COM — The panel of judges of the Medan District Court handed down a acquittal to videographer Amsal Christy Sitepu in the alleged mark-up case for the production of village profile videos in Karo Regency. In the operative part of the decision, the panel chaired by Mohammad Yusafrihardi Girsang declares that Amsal has not been proven legally and convincingly guilty as charged in the primary or subsidiary charges, so he is acquitted of all charges and his rights are restored.

The decision is inversely proportional to the demands of the public prosecutor. Previously, the prosecutor demanded that Amsal be sentenced to two years in prison, a fine of IDR 50 million subsidiary to three months imprisonment, as well as replacement money of around IDR 202.1 million. If the replacement money is not paid, the prosecutor requests that it be replaced with one year in prison.

This case originated from a village profile video production project in Karo Regency funded by village funds. Amsal, who was also said to serve as Director of CV Promiseland, was charged with working on profile videos for 20 villages in four sub-districts with a value of approximately IDR 30 million per village. The prosecutor previously assessed that the submitted proposal was not properly prepared and the execution of the work was not in accordance with the budget plan, which was said to have caused state losses of approximately IDR 202,161,980 based on an audit by the Karo Regency Inspectorate.

The Amsal case has recently garnered widespread attention. Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives even requested that his detention be suspended and declared themselves ready to be his guarantor. In a special meeting held on March 30, 2026, Commission III also called on the panel of judges to consider an acquittal or at least a lenient sentence, taking into account the sense of justice, especially for creative industry workers.

With this acquittal, the case that had sparked debate about the boundary between alleged corruption and the working practices of the creative industry has temporarily ended at the first level of court with a complete victory for the defendant. However, public attention will now be focused on the next step from the prosecutor, namely whether to accept the decision or pursue further legal remedies.