Rita Widyasari, Her Sex Tape, And The Political Career That Crashes

07/07/2018

Rita Widyasari, is an Indonesian politician, who won the election to become the regent of Kutai Kartanegara in 2010.

She was reelected to be in office from 2016-2021 after winning the 2015 election. However, on October 2017, she was replaced by her deputy, Edi Damansyah, because she was accused by Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for corruption.

She was then sentenced to 10 years for graft, and because of her involvement in a bribery case related to various projects in the resource-rich East Kalimantan regency.

But before any of these happened, back in 2000, she allegedly made a sex tape with a man.

In the video, a couple is shown spending their moment together in a house at Bandung, West Java, watching porn videos together, and engaging in sexual intercourse.

Rita Widyasari
Rita Widyasari as the regent of Kutai Kartanegara.

While the video is rather grainy and noisy, viewers quickly concluded that the woman is Rita Widyasari, not from her Malay accent, but simply because the man called her by her full name.

" [...] a star play. World-caliber artist Rita Widyasari is in the news [...]," said the man after the two had sex.

The sex tape was recorded when Rita was still in her early 20s, and was an undergraduate student at Padjajaran University in Bandung, long before she became a politician.

The sex tape that is 45-minutes long, is titled "Belum Ada Judul" or "Untitled."

It spread mainly through VCDs and DVDs before the internet.

The video initially spread in 2006, but things faded eventually.

At that time, Rita was yet to become a politician, and her amateur but hardcore sex tape was not high in demand.

Initially, it spread through YouTube. But since the video-streaming service started banning the videos and adult contents, people began sharing Rita's sex tape on various adult websites.

But by the time she became a politician, the sex tape resurfaced. And at each election, the demand for the sex tape increases.

Since she became the head of Golkar's Regional Representative Council at Kutai Kertanegara, the tape was used frequently by her oppositions to degrade and defame her reputation.

Read: How An Alleged Sex Tape Of Two Indonesian Politicians Propelled Their Careers

Rita Widyasari
A screenshot of "Belum Ada Judul", where Rita Widyasari engages in hardcore steamy sex sessions with a man.

The Golkar political party thought that the case was already closed, and people have moved on from the sex tape. But still, people kept spreading and sharing the video, thanks to the internet.

People are overreacting, the spokesperson for the party said.

"Yes, it's (the sex tape scandal) over," Setya Novanto said in February 2010, suggesting the the sex tape is frequently used as black campaign against her.

It is said that Rita managed to become a regent herself due to her father's influence. Rita is the second child of Syaukani Hasan Rais, who was also a regent for Kutai Kartanegara.

Despite Rita's father was also found guilty for corruption back in 2006, he was loved by his people. Every year, hundreds of people flocked to the regent's office to receive parcels during Islamic official holidays. Syaukani also opened his office for anyone who wished to see him, and even allowed people who want to stay overnight.

During his days assuming office, Syaukani didn't hesitate when visiting the community.

According to various reports, the peak of Rita's victory was because Syaukani was present during the mass campaign in Kutai.

Further reading: The Viral Gay Sex Tape Between An Alleged Malaysian Minister And An Official

Rita Widyasari
Rita Widyasari at one of her trials.

Rita Widyasari, was born on November 7, 1973.

Following the alleged bribery and gratification cases that brought her down, in the hearing, the judges ordered Rita to pay Rp600 million ($41,820) in fines or serve an additional six month in prison.

They also banned the defendant from active politics until five years after the end of her sentence.

"The panel of judges hereby declares that the first defendant, Rita, is proven guilty of committing graft," presiding judge Sugiyono said, saying that Rita had been found guilty of accepting Rp6 billion in bribes.

At first, prosecutors from the KPK alleged that Rita received gratuities of Rp110 billion.

The prosecutors demanded 15 years in prison, but the judges decided to give the defendant a lesser sentence, as she had been cooperative during the trial.