It has become the gossip of the neighborhood.

Some female tenants of the Istana Laguna boarding house in Grogol Petamburan, West Jakarta, have been drawing attention.

“They always wear sexy clothes, and some of them are seen coming back to the house at dawn,” Ani Lisnawati, 39, who sells food near the boarding house, said on Tuesday.

So when it was discovered on Friday that one of the women, Murtiyaningsih, a sex worker, was murdered, reportedly by a man who identified as her client, the neighbors already knew the rest of the story.

The 28-year-old was found dead inside her room at the Istana Laguna. Police said Agus had killed her after she had insisted that he pay Rp 500,000 (US$37.46), which Agus apparently could not afford. The alleged crime occurred after Murtiyaningsih had delivered her services to Agus at the rental property the night before her body was found.

Online prostitution has become widespread in the city, with sex workers renting rooms at apartments buildings and boarding houses to serve their clients.

In 2015, residents in Tebet, South Jakarta, were shocked when a woman, Deudeuh Avisah Rini, aka Tata Chubby, was found dead in her room.

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