Suspect: Jessica Kumala Wongso speaks to journalists in Jakarta on Jan
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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)
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