Suspect in murder trial featured in fashion piece, angers netizens

JAKARTA, Indonesia – A fashion episode of a local Indonesian news website features an unusual choice: Jessica Wongso, the 27-year-old standing trial for the alleged murder of her friend Wayan Mirna Salihin. 

An online lifestlye segment called Fashion Actions, features Jessica to discuss her “metropolitan lifestyle.”

The video portrays the defendant like a celebrity who is described as being like “every young woman living in a metropolitan city… and loves spending time in cafés and bars.”

Dressed in a deep blue blazer, with her hair done and her face with make-up, she answered questions about her style, food choice and even her favorite country.

“Hi viewers of Liputan6.com, I’m Jessica and welcome to Fashion Actions,” she said in the opening of the video.

When asked about her fashion style, she responded, “I rarely do boyish style, I prefer feminine style, but not very feminine. So, while other people do street style or casual, (my style is) simple but fits me, and I can use it for the days and the nights. I only need to add some necklace, something which looks natural, and not gaudy.”

She also said she likes both Indonesian and Western food.

“My hobby is eating. I like every food, from Asian to Western food, I like them all. It depends on what I want to eat at that time.”

She even shared that she no longer uses Facebook or Instagram “because I like my privacy.”

“I’m just afraid, I have a bad experience, my photo was used by someone for weird things, so I think it’s better to not use social media for now. I used to have (social media), but in 2012 I deleted my accounts.”

What the video doesn’t mention is Jessica is involved in a high-profile murder case that has riveted the country. She is the sole suspect in the murder of her friend Mirna, 27, allegedly by putting cyanide in Mirna’s coffee.

Mirna, a newlywed, died on January 6, immediately after taking a sip of her iced Vietnamese coffee at Olivier restaurant in Grand Indonesia, Central Jakarta, where she was having a drink with Jessica and another friend. Jessica had been the one who ordered Mirna’s drink, and was at the cafe an hour before Mirna’s arrival.

Jessica’s trial has been televised and has constantly flooded headlines. She has denied the charges.

Netizens’ response

The video gained negative responses from netizens.

Arwin Effendi, a netizen, left a comment on the article, saying, “Liputan 6 is crazy. So disappointed at you. This news is totally trash. It’s a case, and she’s a suspect, but you talk about her metropolitan style. U guys need to go back to journalism school. How could our society become smarter if major news outlet like you is this shallow. Mindboggling!”

Another user, Poypoy Stefanny Setiabudi, said, “How terrible. Is Liputan 6 not popular anymore? Why would you make an accused criminal into an artist? Turns me off,” said another user.

In the past, Fashion Action featured other celebrities like Aurel Hermansyah, a child of a celebrity couple who later became a celebrity herself as a singer, and Aura Kasih, a popular singer.

Meanwhile, Novi Nady of Liputan 6 defended its decision to feature Jessica, and explained to Rappler that the team had “wanted to interview Jessica about her case but she refused and asked for a relaxed interview. The team then proposed the lifestyle interview to Jessica, to which she responded enthusiastically.”

“The video was published in February, when Jessica was not yet accused of the crimes. They later republished the video after the case started gaining momentum in mainstream media,” the statement said.

Ironically, Jessica had been the prime suspect since news first broke of Mirna’s death. – Rappler.com