Witnesses provide no solid testimony

JAKARTA Two eyewitnesses presented at trial by the defense attorney of ac­cused murderer jessica Kumala Wongso on Wednesday apparently shed little light in favor of the defendant in their testimonies.

The two men, who sat at a table in the Olivier cafe near Jessica on the day of the incident in question, told the court they noticed Jessica stand and call someone on her telephone between 4 p.m. and 420 p.m., the time that according to a forensic experi was when sodium cyanide was poured into the iced vietnamese coffee that killed Wayan Mirna Salihin.

"I am pretty sure that it was the defendant who was standing near me. She was noisy and made me uncomfortable as l was in a meeting that day," said Hartanto Sukmono, one of the witnesses.

However, CCTV footage that was played during Wednesdays hearing showed that Jessica did not make any phone calls ot stand near Hartanto during that time. The witness then said that he could have been wrong about the exact time. Jessica has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Mirna in January this year. -JP