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Police detain Jessica in private cell
Jessica Kumala Wongso, suspect in the Wayan Mirna Salihin murder case, enters a detention room after being questioned by general crimes directorate investigators at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Monday
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Jessica Kumala Wongso, suspect in the Wayan Mirna Salihin murder case, enters a detention room after being questioned by general crimes directorate investigators at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Monday. (Kompas/Raditya Helabumi) (Kompas/Raditya Helabumi)
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span class="inline inline-center">Jessica Kumala Wongso, suspect in the Wayan Mirna Salihin murder case, enters a detention room after being questioned by general crimes directorate investigators at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Monday. (Kompas/Raditya Helabumi)
Jessica Kumala Wongso, a murder suspect in the Wayan Mirna Salihin cyanide-poising case, was currently detained in a private cell at the Jakarta Police headquarters for her own protection, a police spokesman said on Tuesday.
She was reportedly given a private cell so she could concentrate on her case and not be bullied by other detainees.
"She could be verbally bullied. That could affect her psychological state," Jakarta Police detention and evidence center chief Adj. Sr. Comr Barnabas told journalists at the Jakarta Police headquarters on Tuesday, adding that Jessica herself had also requested the private cell.
"She wanted to be alone so she could focus on her case," Barnabas said adding that Jessica was in good condition after being detained since Saturday.
Separately, Jakarta Police health and medical division head Sr. Comr. Musyafak said that police were treating Jessica well, adding that she showed no signs of depression.
"From the beginning she has been rather quiet. However, we still have open communication with her; if we ask her something, she will answer," Musyafak said.
The police plan to detain Jessica for 20 days as part of their investigation after naming her as a suspect in the case.
Jakarta Police investigators were still strengthening the evidence against Jessica before handing the case over to the prosecutor's office, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Muhammad Iqbal said.
The police have said they would not wait for Jessica's confession as it was not mandatory according to the law.
'In the majority of the poisoning cases we have handled, the culprits did not confess to what they had done. That's why a skilled police investigation is needed in such cases," Iqbal added.
The case caught the public's attention after Mirna died in hospital after drinking cyanide-tainted coffee in an upmarket café at the Grand Indonesia Mall in Central Jakarta on Jan. 6. (rin)
