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Woman Fighting To Clear Her Name After Instagram Comment Landed Her With Threat Of Jail

Woman Fighting To Clear Her Name After Instagram Comment Landed Her With Threat Of Jail

A controversial decade-old law may still force her to cough up £40,000 or spend time behind bars

Anonymous

Anonymous

An Indonesian woman has been fighting to clear her name after she was threatened with a £40,000 bill and potential prison sentence for complaining about a skincare product on Instagram.

The comment criticised the acne treatment Stella Monica Hendrawan received at a skincare clinic in Indonesia.

Now an obscure 2008 internet law may see Stella, 26, into thousands of pounds of debt.

Stella told This Week in Asia: "I merely talked about my experience as a customer with my friends.

"Little did I know that the clinic would accuse me of smearing its reputation."

Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network

The company demanded Stella pay for full-page adverts worth 800 million rupiahs (£40,000) in Indonesia's major national newspapers to make up for the damage her comment caused.

Police then came to Stella's house when she was unable to dish out the money to pay the hefty fine.

Such a harsh response is down to one of the country's controversial internet laws created to regulate online activity.

Stella said: "I was declared a suspect in October 2020.

"A team of police officers visited me at home, confiscated my mobile phone, and assumed control of my Instagram account.

Alamy

"I just hope that common sense and decency prevail because my life was turned upside down because of it."

Stella could have been sentenced to a year in prison if found guilty, but thankfully things look to be going her way.

She was acquitted of the charges on 14 December last week after a year-long campaign.

But she isn't yet in the clear as state prosecutors could still appeal to a higher court.

Stella admitted to considering suicide during the two-year battle to deliver herself from a potential jail cell.

Her community and some of her friends even went so far as to marginalise her because of the incident.

She said: "Many of my friends, even the ones from my church, distanced themselves from me."

Advogadoaguilar/Pixabay

The beauty clinic's lawyer claimed one of the main reasons the company believes Stella acted against the law was because she had never told the clinic about her bad treatment in the first place.

HK Kosasih said Stella had never made any complaints about her initial treatment.

When Stella decided to find a new clinic, she did so without notifying the original one.

HK accused Stella of making false comments about her treatment online.

He said: "Genuine criticism ... should not be made in a derogatory, offensive, insulting manner and should not contain false facts."

Words: Charlie Metcalfe

Featured Image Credit: Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network

Topics: World News