Jakarta – Prosecutors have asked the South Jakarta District Court to sentence Ratna Sarumpaet, a former campaign team member of losing presidential pair Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno, to six years' imprisonment for spreading hoax news.

"We ask the panel of judges to sentence the defendant, Ratna Sarumpaet, to prison for six years, reduced by the defendant's detention period," prosecutor Daroe Tri Sadono said on Tuesday, as quoted by kompas.com.

The prosecutors said that Ratna had caused unease by spreading pictures of her swollen and bruised face and claiming that it had been the result of an assault.

Prosecutors charged her under Article 14 of the Criminal Code, which relates to spreading false news causing public unease.

Ratna claimed in September last year that she had been assaulted by a group of men at an airport in Bandung, West Java. She also suggested that the assault was related to her campaign on behalf of Prabowo.

Police arrested Ratna on Oct. 4 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, after investigating her claims.

They found that the swelling on her face had been the result of cosmetic surgery at Bina Estetika Hospital in Menteng, Central Jakarta. She later admitted that there had been no assault and she had indeed had surgery.

Ratna had asked the judges not to politicize her case. "The judges have promised not to politicize my case. I will await their decision," she said.

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/05/28/prosecutors-demand-6-years-for-ratna-sarumpaet.html