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 drugs were allegedly found in black plastic bags inside her luggage.
Taiwanese police allege she was carrying 15 pounds of the drug, which they say she initially “vehemently denied” any knowledge of.
She later claimed her ex-husband John was behind the plot, police say.
Voulgaris’ lawyer Leon Huang said it was “essential” that his ex take the stand as he was the only person who could confirm her claims.
Under Taiwan’s strict legal system, capital punishment remains legal, despite attempts to repeal it. 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 execution methods, such as lethal injection, today executions are carried out by pistol shooting.
Condemned prisoners are sedated, placed face down on a mattress, and shot three times in the heart. If the prisoner has chosen to donate his internal organs, then he is executed with a single bullet to the back of the head.
Even if she is not given the death penalty, the mother faces a minimum of five years behind bars, but could also face life in prison.
Debbie Voulgaris could face the death penalty in Taiwan
Voulgaris was allegedly given category one drugs in Malaysia around December 10 before flying to Taiwan, ABC reported.
The Australian mother was allegedly paid $1,800 (£1,400) to take the drugs, plus accommodation and transport costs.
The drugs had a street value of around $1.25m (£1m), according to Chen Po-chuan, captain of Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Brigade.
Po-chaun said Voulgaris told authorities he was in Taiwan on vacation.
He said They had sent officers to their hotel to see if anyone was coming to pick up 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 “easily believed people” and had been used as a drug “mule.”
“From her description… it appeared that Ms. Debbie Voulgaris was not aware of the nature of her trip in the first place,” Mr. Huang said.
“And number two, he had no idea what was in and under his luggage, because there is a hidden compartment and he wasn’t aware of it.”
Mr. Huang said that because his client had admitted his guilt early, while still maintaining that he knew nothing about the drugs, he could avoid the death penalty.
“If the court finds someone worthy of sympathy, as in Debbie’s case, they normally wouldn’t want to offer them the option of the death penalty,” he said.
Taoyuan District prosecutors alleged that Voulgaris was part of a “drug transportation syndicate” in documents filed in 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.
‘In particular, the defendant claimed that the accomplice, John, who ordered 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 subpoenaed to testify during the preparatory procedure, which implies 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. Huang said the legal team was seeking to subpoena him.
Voulgaris has been denied visits from family members, but can receive visits from his legal team and officials from the Australian office in Taipei.
A request for his release was denied in March, with judges Cai Yirong and Hou Jingyun ruling that there was substantial evidence that he was a flight risk.
His lawyers had argued that their client had not spoken to his family in three months, was struggling to adapt to Chinese food and could not speak Chinese.
However, the judges ruled that these “were not factors to be considered in determining the need for detention.”
“It is noted that the defendant’s daughter knows John’s contact information, therefore it cannot be ruled out that the defendant may use his daughter to contact John, making this (contact) request unacceptable,” they said.
Voulgaris will appear in court in August. She could face the death penalty or life in prison if she is convicted or a minimum of five years behind bars.
However, the chances of him receiving the death penalty are unlikely after Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled last August that imposing a life sentence or the death penalty for drug crimes is partially unconstitutional.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said an Australian woman detained in Taiwan was receiving consular assistance.
A change.org petition for Voulgaris’ release has received 3,000 signatures.
“Anyone who knows her or has met her understands what a pure and kind heart she has,” the petition’s author wrote.
‘She is a mother of five children and could face the death penalty or life imprisonment. Please sign the petition to help secure the freedom of an innocent and pure-hearted mother.’
Authorities allegedly discovered 7kg of cocaine and heroin inside his luggage (pictured)
On April 23 of this year, Taiwan’s constitutional court debated the death penalty and whether it was compatible with the country’s constitution.
This occurred after human rights groups Amnesty International and the Global Coalition Against the Death Penalty questioned the constitutionality of the practice in the country.
When the challenge was presented 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 that should not be missed.
‘The death penalty is a violation of human rights and human dignity and must be recorded in the history books once and for all. The protection of human rights cannot be compromised.’
According Taiwan FocusThe debate this year lasted five hours.
Lawyers for 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 judges recused themselves from the case, leaving 12. They are expected to issue a ruling in July, the news outlet reported.
Although there is a long list of crimes punishable by the death penalty under Taiwanese law, all executions in the country since the early 2000s have been for murder.
Before 2000, Taiwan had a relatively high rate of executions, but controversial cases in the 1990s and changing attitudes toward capital punishment have seen the number of executions decline since the turn of the century.
Three were carried out in 2005 and then none between 2006 and 2009. Executions resumed in 2010 and 35 have been carried out since then.
Amnesty International stated in 2023 that no executions have been carried out in the country since 2020.
However, according to the Global Coalition Against the Death Penalty, there are currently 49 people under sentence of death.
According to a study in the Asian Journal of Criminology, about 80 percent of the Taiwanese public supports the use of capital punishment.
The execution process involves some of the highest Taiwanese officials.
A judicial execution requires a final ruling from the Supreme Court of Taiwan and an execution order signed by the Minister of Justice, who also sets a final and secret execution date.
Once the order is issued, the prisoner must be executed within three days.
If new evidence or evidence of a procedural defect comes to light, the execution date may be delayed. However, this has only happened once.
The president of Taiwan can also grant clemency, but again, this is rare.
Death row prisoners are known to be held in harsher conditions than the general population. It is believed that they are no longer shackled for 24 hours, as before, but 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 indication that the people in the photo were involved in the alleged crime.
The executions take place at 7:30 p.m. and are carried out in secret. No one is informed of the date, not even the convicted.
When the time comes, they are taken to the execution ground, where a special court confirms the prisoner’s identity and can also record his last words.
The prisoner is then served a final meal, usually including a bottle of kaoliang wine, before he is administered a strong anesthetic that causes him to lose consciousness.
They then place the prisoner on the ground and shoot him, either through the heart or, if he is an organ donor, through the brain stem below the ear. It is tradition for the condemned to place a bill in their shackles as a tip for the executioners.