The ex-husband of an Australian mother of five accused of smuggling 7kg of cocaine and heroin into Taiwan has not appeared in court to support his defence.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57, was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport on December 10 last year after drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags inside her suitcase when she arrived on a flight from Malaysia.
She could now face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of drug trafficking.
Taiwan police allege she initially “vehemently denied” any knowledge of the drugs, before blaming someone else.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia in May, Voulgaris, who also uses the surname Kyriacou, said he and his wife had been set up by long-term business partners while the couple were innocently trying to make an offshore investment.
However, Mr. Voulgaris did not respond to a subpoena ordering him to testify before the Taoyuan District Court in August and did not appear at his wife’s hearing.
During the hearing, Judge Chen Yen-Nien revealed that the Foreign Office and other authorities had confirmed that Mr Voulgaris, who lives in Melbourne, had received the documents, but did not appear, the alphabet information.
Voulgaris’ lawyer Leon Huang told the court it would be difficult to extradite Voulgaris because he is an Australian citizen.
He said Ms Voulgaris had agreed to abandon any further attempts to subpoena him.
Judge Yen-Nien said that without Voulgaris’s testimony, which could help clear his ex-wife’s case, the court would have to rely on the evidence available to it.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57 (pictured), remains locked up in a Taiwan prison over allegations she tried to smuggle drugs into the strict Asian country.
Voulgaris’ legal team told the court they would argue she had been a victim of domestic violence, making her vulnerable to exploitation.
“Due to the defendant’s history as a victim of domestic violence, we believe she had difficulty refusing the request (to carry the luggage),” said her other lawyer, Lin Chih-erh.
The judge also announced that the ban on Voulgaris communicating with his family would be lifted.
She had previously been banned from corresponding with loved ones to ensure that any testimony Mr Voulgaris might have given as a witness in her case had not been tainted.
Ms Voulgaris appeared anxious as she sat next to her legal team listening to the proceedings with the help of a Mandarin translator.
But his mood changed to excitement when he learned that the ban would be lifted.
When she finished the process and stood up to leave, Mrs. Voulgaris told the officials: “Thank you, thank you very much.”
Outside court, Huang said it was disappointing that Voulgaris had not attended the hearing.
“If (John) had appeared, he would have been able to verify or clarify many issues in this case,” he told ABC.
Her ex-husband John Voulgaris, who also uses the surname Kyriacou, did not travel to Taiwan to testify in August after being summoned by the court.
She was photographed being escorted from the airport by officials in December last year.
“He said he didn’t think it was anything against the law.”
Huang said the messages and call logs on Voulgaris’ phone would be analyzed to support his claims, but since there is a lot of data, it will take some time to collect it.
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia about the matter on Thursday, Voulgaris said he did not wish to comment.
Huang said the lifting of the communication ban, which had been in place since she was arrested, meant her children and relatives could apply to visit her in prison.
Mr Huang said she was “fine” and was cared for while behind bars, and that he believed she would escape the death penalty if convicted.
Police in Taiwan allege that Ms. Voulgaris joined a drug trafficking group, which intentionally planned to smuggle drugs through Asia.
According to the allegations, the criminal group agreed with Debbie Voulgaris to pay a reward of only US$1,800 (A$2,700), along with accommodation and transportation costs.
Authorities allegedly discovered 7kg of cocaine and heroin inside his luggage (pictured)
Voulgaris was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport (pictured) in December.
The group allegedly gave him their luggage to take on the flight which secretly contained around $1.25 million worth of heroin and cocaine, which was detected by airport X-ray screening.
In May, Voulgaris angrily denounced the allegations, saying he first met the foreign group 16 years ago and that they had remained in regular contact for business reasons.
She’s fucking innocent! he got angry. ‘They have set a trap for us!
“We don’t know anything about damn drugs and we’ve never seen or touched them in our lives.”
He added: ‘Everything we were doing was an investment abroad.
‘They wanted to invest. I sent 3 million dollars of my money…
‘When I found out (about their arrest), I tried to contact them but they turned off their phones. She hasn’t done anything wrong.
The case remains before the courts.
