The Death of a Batavian Prostitute, Fientje de Feniks, the Beginning of Yellow Journalism

JAKARTA - History has recorded that since Jakarta was still called Kalapa, Jacatra to Batavia, this city was once known as a place where the prostitution business thrived. The prostitutes came from various backgrounds, ranging from Bumiputera, Chinese, and Japanese, to Dutch Indonesia (Indo). One of them was the legendary Fientje de Feniks.

Fientje wasn't only famous as a top-class prostitute, but also well-known for her mysterious death.

Her mysterious death became even more famous due to the attention of the big media in 1912. The two media were the Batavia newspaper, Het Nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch Indie, and the Surabaya-published newspaper Soerabaische Handelsblad.

In their reporting, they described a corpse, which was later known as Fientje floating, in Kali Baru (Senen area), Batavia, on May 17, 1912. The body with a damaged face was caught in a water gate and wrapped in a sack. That view became a spectacle for residents.

Initially, people thought the body was a Chinese woman because she worn a sarong and kebaya. However, upon further identification, the corpse was Fientje de Feniks, a sexual peddler from a brothel, Oemar Ompong.

"This incident made Batavia residents excited because it was the first time a violence and sex murder happened. From the physical evidence, the woman died by strangulation," said Achmad Sunjayadi in (Not) Taboo di Nusantara (2018).

Bribery Prevent the Investigations

Due to this incident, the Batavia police chief commissioner, Ruempol, immediately investigated the Feniks murder case. Oemar Ompong, was the first to be questioned. Oemar, who was scared, suddenly mentioned the name of a Dutch man, Gemser Brinkman. Omar suspected him as the murderer because he often used the services of a prostitute.

Oemar revealed that Brinkman loved visiting his brothel. There were many prostitutes available, but Brinkman always chose Fientje. Which then, Brinkman allegedly wanted to monopolize her by making her a mistress. But Oemar rejected Brinkman's wishes, then, the murder occurred.

Police were skeptical of Oemar's statement. It was because Brinkman was part of an elite group and was listed as a member of Societeit Concordia, a club filled by merchants.

Rosihan Anwar in his book History of Small "Petite Histoire" Indonesia (2004) tells that Oemar's statement was later confirmed by a witness from another prostitute, Rosna. Through his statement, Brinkman was soulless. “It turned out that Fientje's life ended at Oemar's brothel. Another prostitute named Rosna peeked through the crack in the bamboo wall, how Brinkman strangled Fientje's neck. "

The suffocated Brinkman then tried to use his wealth to bribe Wedana Weltevreden, Sabaroedin, as much as three thousand guilders and the Assistant Chief Prosecutor for two thousand guilders to close the case. He also tried to pay Mr. Hoorweg as much as 15 thousand guilders. If he managed to defend himself free, he promised an additional 6 thousand guilders in cash.

However, luck was not on Brinkman's side. All the witnesses even incriminated and cornered Brinkman even more. During the trial, Rosna also said to the head of the court: "Sir, I am a woman, I am afraid. But I will say again, it was this man who committed the murder."

Luckily, the court granted the demands. Then Brinkman was found guilty and received a death sentence.

“In the death cell, he really couldn't believe that a rich white man would have to pay for the murder of an Indo prostitute. He had more confidence in his friends who had a big influence. The day of his execution drew near. It couldn't be stopped. He was crying hysterically. Finally, Brinkman committed suicide,” wrote Rosihan Anwar.

The Beginning of Yellow Journalism

The death of Fientje shocked the entire Indies, it became a major milestone in the development of yellow journalism in Indonesia. It could be seen from the explosion of the Fientje case that it could attract people to buy their newspapers by concocting news in a bombastic, sensational way, and seasoned with headlines to attract the attention of the audience. This kind of news is known as yellow journalism.

Fientje's death was indeed big news. As revealed by Fauzan Mukrim in Searching for the Edge of the Sky (2010), for days people followed the news through newspapers published at the time. People wanted to know the fate of the actors involved in it.

Tan Boen Kim, a journalist, and editor of the Len Po weekly published in Batavia, even wrote a novel based on Fientje's death. The novel, published in 1915, was entitled Miss Fientje de Feniks. As expected, the novel sold so well that it was printed many times.

"Tan Boen Kim also composed a poem which he gave a fairly long title: Sair Nona Fientje de Feniks dan sakalian ia poenja korban jang benar terdjadi di Betawi antara taon 1912-1915 (Sair, Miss Fientje de Feniks, a victim in Betawi between 1912-1915)," concluded Fauzan.