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Jessica's lawyers plead for justice
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Murder suspect Jessica Kumala Wongso (second left) is escorted from the Jakarta Police detention center to the Jakarta Prosecutor’s Office. (kompas.com /Akhdi Martin Pratama)
T
he lawyers of murder suspect Jessica Kumala Wongso rejected all charges against their client after the indictment was read out at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday.
Jessica, 27, stands accused of the premeditated murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin. The charge carries the death penalty.
Her lawyers said the prosecution had failed to find proof that Jessica had planned the murder and pointed out that was a third person called Hani who had initiated the meeting at Olivier restaurant on Jan. 6. They said that under such circumstances, the court should ensure that justice was served and Jessica pronounced not guilty.
Lawyer Otto Hasibuan said the prosecution had failed to prove that Jessica had spiked Mirna’s iced coffee with cyanide or that Jessica had ever been in possession of cyanide.
He also criticized the prosecution for not mentioning in the indictment whether the cyanide was in powder or liquid form.
“No one saw Jessica put cyanide in Mirna’s coffee. Even if she did put something in it, the prosecution can’t recklessly conclude that she put cyanide in Mirna’s cup. It could have been sugar that she put in the coffee, couldn’t it?” Otto said.
“Jessica only visited Olivier restaurant once, which was on the day of the incident. She didn’t even know where the CCTVs were,” Otto said.
The indictment had been haphazardly drafted and was incomplete, unclear and inaccurate, Otto claimed. (bbn)
