TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsJessica accused of committing premeditated murder
Suspect: Jessica Kumala Wongso speaks to journalists in Jakarta on Jan
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Suspect: Jessica Kumala Wongso speaks to journalists in Jakarta on Jan. 20 after being questioned by police officers in connection with the murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin. Police on Saturday named her a suspect for the premeditated murder of Mirna. (kompas.com/Andri Donnal Putera) (kompas.com/Andri Donnal Putera)
S
span class="caption">Suspect: Jessica Kumala Wongso speaks to journalists in Jakarta on Jan. 20 after being questioned by police officers in connection with the murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin. Police on Saturday named her a suspect for the premeditated murder of Mirna. (kompas.com/Andri Donnal Putera)
Jessica Kumala Wongso has been accused of the premeditated murder of her friend, Wayan Mirna Salihin. Mirna died shortly after drinking an iced-coffee at Olivier Café in Central Jakarta on Jan. 6. Jessica now faces the possibility of the death penalty.
Jessica was arrested at Neo Hotel in North Jakarta at 7:45 a.m. on Saturday after been named by the police a suspect in Mirna's murder. Jessica has also been banned from traveling overseas by the immigration office.
The Jakarta Police general crimes division head Sr. Corm. Krishna Murti said the decision to arrest Jessica had been taken on Friday evening after police investigators conducted an internal case review to ensure that they had adequate evidence.
Police officers came to Jessica's house on Friday night but found her house empty. Jessica was arrested the following morning. "We arrested her respectfully. There was no resistance from her. She was brought to the police station accompanied by her parents," Krishna said.
The police are currently interrogating Jessica and they have 24 hours to make a decision whether or not to detain her. "She will now be interrogated as a suspect," Krishna added.
Krishna said that when Jessica was earlier questioned as a witness, she did not give consistent information to the investigators and the information she gave was not in line with the facts that had already been collected by the police.
She was charged under Article 340 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder.
Krishna called on Jessica to immediately appoint defense lawyers. "If she doesn't have a lawyer, the country will provide her with one. If she has a lawyer, we're waiting for her lawyer so that the interrogation can start," Krishna said.
Krishna added that the police had collected four from a minimum of two pieces of evidence required to name Jessica a suspect. "We have information from about 20 witnesses and six experts," Krishna added.
Based on a case reconstruction, it is thought that Mirna and Jessica were at a café together. Jessica came first and ordered a cocktail and an iced-coffee. Some minutes later, Mirna came to the café. Mirna drank the coffee and shortly thereafter suffered convulsions and began to foam at the mouth. She died on the way to the hospital. (bbn)
