How A Tragic Love Affair Reveals Huge Tax Problems in Indonesia

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - In January last month, a young man named Mario Dandy Satriyo (20) heard a story from his 15-year-old girlfriend. The girl claimed to her beau that she was harassed by her former lover.

Mario and his friend, Shane (19), then decided to visit the ex-boyfriend in Ulujami, South Jakarta. Their target is a young man called Cristalino David Ozora (17).

Upon the meeting, Mario savagely attacked the younger guy. Although David was already down, Mario kept kicking his head. As a result, David lost consciousness and ended up comatose in the emergency unit. The video became viral in the middle of this month and its violence sparked outrage from the netizens.

But the story has since been connected to two ministers: Minister for Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Minister for Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas.

David has been revealed as the son of GP Anshor's official in its central office. GP Ansor is an organization connected to the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), one of the most influential Islamic organizations in Indonesia. Minister Yaqut is part of NU.

Meanwhile, Mario is the son of a high official in the Directorate General of Taxes. The directorate is under the Ministry of Finance which has the highest authority in taxation affairs. Mario's father is almost as rich as Sri Mulyani herself.

Mario's lifestyle became viral on social media as the young man often showed off his luxurious vehicles, including a Rubicon. But an examination on his father's wealth data did not find any mention of Rubicon, despite the father's role as a tax official, and that caused widespread criticism toward the tax authority.

Mario's father is Rafael Alun Trisambodo. He previously worked as the head of general affairs at the tax office of South Jakarta.

According to his wealth report in 2022, Rafael amassed the wealth of Rp56.1 billion, only 2 billion less than Minister Sri Mulyani.

His wealth is also larger than his own boss, the Director General of Taxes Suryo Utomo, who has Rp14.45 billion.

The sources of Rafael's fortune are his lands and properties in Sleman (Middle Java Province), Manado (North Sulawesi Province), and West Jakarta. As for his vehicles, Raphael reportedly owns two Toyota cars. No mention of Rubicon which his son used.

On Monday (27/2/2023), the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said they would invite Rafael on Wednesday for clarification.

The spokesperson of KPK, Ali Fikri, said that the commission is very adept in revealing money-laundering and suspicious transactions from public officials.

Minister Sri Mulyani already removed Rafael from his post. Rafael also apologized to the public about his son's behavior, and he decided to resign as a civil servant.

In a separate statement, Sri Mulyani criticized the violence that took place, while also asking her officials to stop flaunting their wealth. 

"The Ministry of Finance condemns the luxurious lifestyle which is done by the family of MoF that causes the erosion of trust against the integrity of the Ministry of Finance," said Sri Mulyani who also disbanded the luxurious motorcycles group within her institution.

David is still in comatose. Minister Sri Mulyani and Minister Yaqut already visited him.

Mario was expelled from Prasetiya Mulya University because of his violent assaults against David. The university also expressed their concern about David's severe injurie.

The spokesperson of Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Nurma Dewi, revealed that Mario already expressed his regrets.

"When yesterday I asked, 'do you regret it?' 'yes regret for sure, ma'am,'" recounted Nurma on Saturday (25/2/2023).

Nurma also tried to ask Mario why he did such behavior, but Mario did not give a comprehensive answer.

"His facial expression also showed regret," said Nurma.

Meanwhile, the young girlfriend was already examined by the police for four hours on Saturday. The girl with initials AG is still considered a witness.

The lawyer of AG, Mangatta Tobing Allo, also denied the accusation that his client was taking a selfie on top of David's injured body. Furthermore, Mangatta has requested the Indonesian Child Protection Commission to protect her client. 

Mangatta added that her client did not harbor bad intentions toward David, and that she "really loves David as a human being".

Fachrur Rozie, Agustina Melani, Ilyas Istianur Praditya, and Johanthan Pandapotan Purba contributed to this report.