The Jakarta Culture and Tourism Agency has asked former member of presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto's campaign team, Ratna Sarumpaet, to return funds for a canceled trip to an international conference in Santiago, Chile.

Ratna previously admitted to having lied about being assaulted in Bandung, West Java, confirming that the swelling on her face – as seen on pictures that went viral on social media – had been the result of cosmetic surgery.

Ratna, who is also an actress, failed to attend the 11th Women Playwrights International Conference because she had been arrested at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, on Oct. 10, hours before her departure for spreading lies and hate speech.



“We sent [Ratna] a letter a few days ago demanding that the remaining funds be returned,” the agency’s acting head, Asiantoro, said on Monday as quoted by kompas.com, adding that no deadline had been set for the outspoken antigovernment activist to return the funds.

Ratna was invited by organizers on Oct. 17 last year to be a key speaker at the conference.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan received her funding proposal for reportedly Rp 70 million (US$4,608) on Feb. 19 and later passed it on to the tourism agency. (fac)