An Australian mother of five is facing the death penalty in Taiwan after she was allegedly caught with a stash of cocaine hidden in her suitcase.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December after the drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags inside her luggage.
Taiwanese police allege she was carrying 15lbs of the drug, which – they say – she initially ‘vehemently denied’ having any knowledge of.
She later claimed her ex-husband John was behind the scheme, police say.
Ms Voulgaris’s lawyer Leon Huang said it was ‘essential’ her ex took the stand as he was the only person who could confirm her claims.
Under Taiwan’s strict legal system, capital punishment remains legal – despite repeal attempts. The death penalty can be imposed for a long list of crimes, including murder, treason, terrorism, extreme cases of rape and robbery, and drug trafficking.
Although Taiwan has studied other methods of execution, such as the lethal injection, executions are today carried out by shootings using a handgun.
Condemned prisoners are sedated and put face down on a mattress and shot three times through the heart. If the prisoner has opted to donate their internal organs, then they are instead executed by a single bullet to the back of the head.
Even if she is not handed the death penalty, the mother is facing minimum of five years behind bars, but could also be looking at life in prison.
Debbie Voulgaris could face the death penalty in Taiwan
Voulgaris was allegedly handed the category one drugs in Malaysia around December 10 before she flew to Taiwan, the ABC reported.
The Aussie mum was allegedly paid $US1,800 (£1,400) to take the drugs in addition to her accommodation and transport costs.
The drugs had a street value of about $1.25million (£1 million) according to Chen Po-chuan, the captain of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Brigade.
Mr Po-chaun said Voulgaris told authorities she was in Taiwan for a holiday.
He said officers had been sent to her hotel to see if anyone came to collect the drugs, but no one had arrived.
Voulgaris has been detained in a Taiwanese prison since her arrest.
Her lawyer Leon Huang said his client was a ‘good-natured person’ who ‘believed people easily’ and had been used as a drug ‘mule’.
‘Based on her description… it appeared that number one, Ms Debbie Voulgaris was not aware of the nature of her travelling,’ Mr Huang said.
‘And number two, she had no idea of what’s placed inside and under her luggage, because there is a hidden compartment and she wasn’t aware of that.’
Mr Huang said that because his client had admitted guilt early, while still maintaining she didn’t know about the drugs, she may avoid the death penalty.
‘If the court finds someone worthy of sympathy, like Debbie’s case, typically, they would not want to offer the option of death sentence,’ he said.
Taoyuan District Prosecutors alleged Voulgaris was part of a ‘drug transport syndicate’ in documents submitted to a Taiwanese court.
‘Although the defendant confessed to the crime during the court’s preparatory proceedings, it is noted that she had previously vehemently denied the crime during the investigation and detention interrogation by this court, and her statements have been inconsistent,’ the documents state.
‘Notably, the defendant claimed that the co-conspirator, John, who instructed her to bring category one narcotics to Taiwan, is her ex-husband, indicating a close relationship.
‘The defendant and her lawyer requested that John be summoned to testify during the preparatory proceedings, implying that there remains a risk of collusion with John before his testimony.’
In Taiwan, category one drugs refer to heroin, morphine, opium, cocaine, and their derivative products.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in December after drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags inside her luggage
John’s exact whereabouts are currently unclear. Mr Huang said that the legal team was seeking to subpoena him.
Voulgaris has been denied visits from family members but can be visited by her legal team and officials from the Australian Office in Taipei.
An application for her release was denied in March, with judges Cai Yirong and Hou Jingyun ruling there was substantial evidence she was a flight risk.
Her lawyers had argued their client hadn’t spoken with family in three months, was struggling to adapt to Chinese food and could not speak Chinese.
However, the judges ruled these were ‘not factors to be considered when determining the necessity of detention’.
‘It is noted that the defendant’s daughter is aware of John’s contact information, therefore it cannot be ruled out that the defendant could use her daughter to contact John, making this request [for contact] ungrantable,’ they said.
Voulgaris will next appear in court in August. She could face the death penalty or life in prison if found guilty or a minimum of five years behind bars.
However, the chances she receives the death penalty are unlikely after Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled last August that imposing a life sentence or the death penalty for drug offences is partly unconstitutional.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said a detained Australian woman in Taiwan was receiving consular assistance.
A change.org petition for Voulgaris’s release has received 3,000 signatures.
‘Anyone who knows her or has met her, understands the pure, kind heart she has,’ the author of the petition wrote.
‘She is a mother to five children and she could be facing a death penalty or life in prison. Please sign the petition to help towards the freedom of an innocent, pure-hearted mother.’
Authorities allegedly discovered 7kg of cocaine and heroine inside her luggage (pictured)
On April 23 this year, Taiwan’s constitutional court debated debated the death penalty and whether it was compatible with the country’s constitution.
This was after rights groups Amnesty International and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty challenged the constitutionality of the practice in the country.
When the challenge was brought forward in 2023, Eeling Chiu, Director of Amnesty International Taiwan, said: ‘This historic challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty in Taiwan is an opportunity not to be missed.
‘The death penalty is a violation of human rights and human dignity and must be consigned to the history books once and for all. The protection of human rights cannot be compromised on.’
According to Focus Taiwan, the debate this year lasted five hours.
Attorneys representing both sides covered several topics, including whether the death penalty violates the right to life and equality, the principle of proportionality – as well as the United Nations’ treaty on civil rights.
Three justices recused themselves from the case, leaving 12. They are expected to make a judgement in July, the news outlet reported.
Although there is a long list under Taiwan law of crimes punishable by the death penalty, all executions in the country since the early 2000s have been for murder.
Prior to 2000, Taiwan had a relatively high rate of executions, but controversial cases in the 1990s and changing attitudes towards capital punishment have seen the number of executions come down since the turn of the century.
Three were carried out in 2005, and then none were carried out between 2006 and 2009. Executions resumed in 2010, with 35 being carried out since.
Amnesty International said in 2023 that no executions have been carried out in the country since 2020.
However, according to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, 49 people are currently under the sentence of death.
According to a study in the Asian Journal of Criminology, around 80 percent of the Taiwanese public support the use of capital punishment.
The execution process involves some of the most senior Taiwanese officials.
A judicial execution requires a final sentence from Taiwan’s supreme court and a warrant of execution signed by the Minister of Justice – who also issues a final and secret execution date.
Once the warrant is issued, the prisoner must be executed within three days.
If new evidence comes to light, or evidence of a procedural flaw, then the execution date may be delayed. However, this has only ever happened once.
Taiwan’s president can also award clemency, but again, this is rare.
Death row prisoners are known to be kept in conditions that are harsher than those in general population. It is believed they are no longer shackled for 24 hours, as was once the case, but they are only allowed out of their cells for 30 minutes a day.
Voulgaris was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport (pictured, file photo) in December. There is no suggestion that those pictured are involved in the suspected crime
Executions take place at 7.30pm and are performed in secret. Nobody is informed of the date, including the condemned.
When the time comes, they are brought to the execution range where the prisoner’s identity is confirmed by a special court, which can also record any last words.
The prisoner is then served a last meal, which usually includes a bottle of kaoliang wine, before a strong anaesthetic is administered to cause unconsciousness.
The prisoner is then laid flat on the ground and shot, either through the heart or – if they are an organ doner – through the brain stem under their ear. It is tradition for the condemned to place a banknote in their leg irons as a tip for the executioners.