Jakarta: A forensic pathologist from Australia has raised doubts over whether an Indonesian woman was poisoned with cyanide in the latest twist to an alleged murder that has gripped Indonesia and piqued a morbid fascination with Vietnamese iced coffee.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Australian permanent resident Jessica Kumala Wongso has been accused of the premeditated murder of Wayan Mirna Salihin, with whom she studied at the Billy Blue College of Design in Sydney.
However the central plank of the prosecution case - that Ms Salihin died after Ms Wongso laced her Vietnamese-iced coffee with cyanide at Olivier restaurant in the ritzy Grand Indonesia shopping mall - has been questioned by a forensic pathologist and senior lecturer at Queensland University's School of Medicine.
"I would say the death is very likely not caused by cyanide," Professor Beng Beng Ong told the Central Jakarta District Court.
He said the low level of cyanide detected in Ms Salihin's stomach was not consistent with fatal poisoning and symptoms of cyanide poisoning typically developed about 30 minutes after ingestion, not the two minutes claimed by the prosecution.
"There was no post mortem performed, there was a delay in [obtaining] the toxicology specimen, there was a contradictory toxicology result and therefore the cause of death cannot be concluded," Professor Ong said.
The circumstances surrounding the death of Ms Salihin have obsessed Indonesians. There are all the plot points of a soap opera - two beautiful women from wealthy backgrounds, an alleged murder and an unknown motive. Vietnamese iced coffees have enjoyed a ghoulish spike in popularity.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Vietnamese coffee. Stronger than you think," a billboard says outside a South Jakarta outlet of MonViet, a Vietnamese restaurant chain.
A MonViet employee insisted this was a coincidence and the phraseology came from a song. But she said many customers ordered iced Vietnamese coffee after the Jessica case because they were curious about it. "Sometimes customers joke: 'Does your Vietnamese coffee contain cyanide or not?'."
Professor Ong, who was the first witness for the defence, told the court he had been an expert forensic witness in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Australia.
He said he would expect a "very high level of cyanide" to be found in the stomach of someone who had been fatally poisoned - in some cases more than 1000 milligrams per litre.
The senior forensic pathologist said he would also expect cyanide to be detected in the bowels and liver.
However Professor Ong said just 0.2 milligrams of cyanide had been detected in Ms Salihin's stomach and tests on her bowel and liver came back negative.
He also said symptoms of cyanide poisoning typically occur about 30 minutes after it has been ingested, which did not fit with Ms Salihin collapsing two minutes after drinking the allegedly spiked iced coffee.
"I wouldn't suspect it was cyanide, I would consider other causes, including natural disease," Professor Ong said.
However he said no autopsy had been performed to determine the cause of death, with the only examination the opening of the abdomen to collect toxicology specimens.
"There was no post mortem autopsy to rule out the natural cause of death and the toxicology is not conclusive of poisoning," he said.
"I would say the cause of death is uncertain or not determined."
The maximum penalty for premeditated murder is the death penalty in Indonesia.
Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan agreed to the Australian Federal Police assisting with the case, after the Indonesian government provided written assurance that Ms Wongso would not face the death penalty if found guilty.
However there are questions over whether this promise can be upheld given it is judges that determine sentences in Indonesia.
