Rhodes student: 'Siam Lee's line of work was not relevant to the public'

It’s a story that everyone has been talking about - the mysterious disappearance of 20-year-old Siam Lee from Durban North and the awful discovery of her charred body in a sugar-cane plantation.

Read - "We hoped for Siam Lee's safe return': Medics

Since then, publications such as TimesLive have revealed to the public that Siam 'worked at a suburban brothel with her mom' and brought up the fact that she was in the adult trade.

Thereafter, a discovery was made of the house in Durban North which is believed to be the brothel where Siam and her mother allegedly performed 'sensual massages'.

Mishka Wazar, Political and International Studies student from Rhodes University, has opened up in an article to share her views on why publications should have kept her occupation from the public, how it had no basis on the story, and that it didn't matter if she was in the adult trade or not.

'This example of unethical journalism has turned the tide of horror and sympathy for the dead girl into one of victim-blaming and contempt. The details surrounding her abduction and murder are complex and unclear, nonetheless, Siam is being held to account for her own murder by a plethora of hateful and cruel comments posted by equally hateful and cruel people,' said Wazar.

I got in contact with Mishka to get a comment from her based on her article. Listen to the podcast below:

Jeff Wicks, a journalist from the Sunday Times, chatted to East Coast Drive on Thursday about the case. He has been working closely to investigate the details and has also published articles pertaining to the case, including the article which revealed that Siam worked in a brothel.

Read - Sunday Times journo: 'Siam Lee's murder highlights plight of women in adult industry'

I caught up with Jeff to get a comment from him as to why he thinks the public had to know about her occupation. Here's what he had to say:

For me, it didn't matter what occupation she had. This is about a 20-year-old girl who lost her life, a girl that was murdered and burnt. Like everyone else, Siam had goals, dreams, and aspirations, but her life was cut short - irrespective of the circumstances and matters surrounding the case. 

Our Newswatch team have reported that a suspect has been arrested and will be appearing in court soon, so I guess we will just have to sit tight and see what happens, but Mishka's article got me thinking and I want to hear from you.

Read - Siam Lee murder case: Suspect due in Durban court

If her occupation was not made public, would her memory be treated differently? Does the fact that she was in the adult industry have any bearing on the story, or should journalists have protected this information?