Legal Literacy - The Indonesian public is once again debating the release of the film "VINA: Before 7 Days" in theaters. This film highlights the murder case of Vina and her boyfriend Eky in Cirebon on August 27, 2016, which was previously suspected to be a single accident. This case, which has resurfaced after eight years, highlights the slow legal process and the recent arrest of one of the perpetrators, Pegi Setiawan, which has sparked controversy. The police have released several suspects, but there is controversy regarding the alleged wrongful arrest. The public is urging fair and procedural law enforcement for this case, which has not yet reached its statute of limitations.

The Stalled Justice in the “Vina Cirebon” Case

The public is once again debating the release of the film VINA “Before 7 Days” in Indonesian Cinemas. The film's presence has sparked pros/cons in law enforcement regarding the Vina case that occurred approximately 8 years ago in Cirebon, West Java. Vina and her boyfriend Eky died on August 27, 2016, with initial suspicions that the deaths were due to a single accident, but further investigation revealed that Vina and Eky's deaths were not caused by a single accident but were tragically murdered by a motorcycle gang.

Currently, the Vina case is viral on social media due to the lengthy time it took for law enforcement to uncover the case and bring the perpetrators, especially the masterminds behind the murder, to trial. The police released 3 people with DPO (wanted person) status, namely Andi, Deni and Pegi, along with 8 people who had been found guilty by the Court in 2017.

A glimmer of hope in the Vina case began to emerge when the police managed to arrest Pegi Setiawan alias Perong on May 21, 2024, but this instead sparked pros/cons in the community, who stated that Pegi Setiawan was only a victim of wrongful arrest and was being sacrificed because of the public perception that one of the perpetrators being hunted was the child of an official. Public perception is also focused on the police press conference which removed 2 names, namely Andi and Deni, from the wanted list (DPO). According to the author, the emergence of the Vina case in the midst of society must be responded to logically and with legal reasoning. There are 2 things that need to be seen, first regarding the statute of limitations of the case and second regarding proof.