Kharisma Arai Cahya (24) and Kadek Krisna Putra (25) are now in police custody and facing the possibility of five years in prison, charged with desecrating the Indonesian flag.
The charges stem from an uploaded Instagram video reportedly showing the two young men defacing the Indonesian flag flown in front of the Regent’s Office in Jembrana on 19 November 2025. The two men were depicted using spray paint, scrawling “RKHUP” on the flag, protesting any revision of the Indonesian criminal code.
The head of the criminal division at the Bali Police, Commissioner Dr. I Gede Adhi Mulyawarman, confirmed that the men will be charged under laws prohibiting acts that dishonor the Nation. “They are suspected of violating Article 66 in combination with Article 24 section a of Law Number 24 of 2009 concerning the National Flag, Language, and Symbols, as well as the National Anthem,” explained Officer Mulyawarman. The wording of the law expressly forbids damaging, tearing, burning, or committing other acts intended to stain, insult, or disparage the honor of the national flag.
The penalty provided under the subject law is five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp. 500 million.
The video uploaded to social media has precipitated widespread anger in the local community.
As reported by Tribun-Bali.com and Radarbali.com,, the two men were apprehended by police within 4 hours of the offending video being uploaded to the Internet.
Police from the Scientific Crime Investigation Unit and the Bali Police quickly identified the two culprits after viewing CCTV footage from a paint and hardware store showing the purchase of Pilox Spray Paint using a BCA QRIS Code controlled by one of the perpetrators.
Police apprehended the two men at their homes at 10:00 pm and transported them to Provincial Police Headquarters for questioning.
Police also claim the two men committed similar acts of vandalism at four locations across Denpasar. Because of the involvement of several crime sites, police consider the acts a premeditated, planned act of opposition to the revised criminal code, carried out using social media.
Police say the two drank arak, becoming intoxicated before launching the series of vandalism acts.
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