The ex-husband of an Australian mother of five accused of smuggling 7kg of cocaine and heroin into Taiwan has failed to appear in court to back up her 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 found convicted of drug trafficking.
Taiwan police allege she initially ‘vehemently denied’ knowing about the drugs, before later blaming someone else.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia in May, Mr Voulgaris – who also uses the last name Kyriacou – said he and his wife had been set up by long-term business associates while the couple had been innocently trying to make an overseas investment.
However Mr Voulgaris did not respond to a subpoena ordering him to give evidence at Taoyuan District Court in August and was a no-show at his wife’s hearing.
During the hearing, Judge Chen Yen-Nien revealed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other authorities had confirmed that Mr Voulgaris, who lives in Melbourne, had received the documents, but he did not turn up, the ABC reports.
Ms Voulgaris’ lawyer Leon Huang told the court it would be difficult to extradite Mr Voulgaris because he is an Australian citizen.
He said Ms Voulgaris had now agreed to abandon any further attempts to summons him.
Judge Yen-Nien said without Mr Voulgaris’ testimony – which could help to clear his ex-wife – the court would have to rely on the evidence available to them.
Debbie Voulgaris, 57 (pictured), remains locked up in a Taiwan prison over allegations she tried to smuggle drugs into the strict Asian country
Ms Voulgaris’ legal team told the court they would be arguing she had been a victim of domestic violence, which made her vulnerable to exploitation.
‘Due to the defendant’s history as a victim of domestic violence, we believe that she [had] difficulty turning down the request [to carry the luggage],’ said her other attorney, Lin Chih-erh.
The judge also announced a ban on Ms Voulgaris communicating with her family would be lifted.
She had previously been prohibited from corresponding with loved ones to ensure any testimony that Mr Voulgaris may have given as a witness in her case would not have been tainted.
Ms Voulgaris appeared anxious as she sat next to her legal team listening to the proceedings via the help of a Mandarin translator.
But her mood shifted to excitement when she learnt the ban would be scrapped.
When the proceedings ended and she got up to leave, Ms Voulgaris said to the officials: ‘Thank you, thank you so much.’
Outside court, Mr Huang said it was disappointing Mr Voulgaris had not attended the hearing.
‘If [John] showed up, he would have been able to verify or clarify a lot of matters for this case,’ he told the ABC.
Her ex-husband John Voulgaris, who also uses the last name Kyriacou, did not travel to Taiwan to give evidence in August after being subpoenaed by the court
She is pictured being escorted from the airport by officials in December last year
‘He said he didn’t believe that it was anything against the law.’
Mr Huang said messages and call records on Ms Voulgaris’ phone would be analysed to support her claims, but, as there is a lot of data, it will take some time to compile.
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia about the matter on Thursday, Mr Voulgaris said he did not wish to comment.
Mr Huang said the removal of the communication ban – which had been in place since she was arrested – meant her children and family would be able apply to visit her in prison.
Mr Huang said she was ‘doing all right’ and being looked after while she was behind bars, and that he believed she would escape the death penalty if found guilty.
Taiwan police allege Ms Voulgaris joined a drug trafficking group, which intentionally planned to smuggle the drugs across Asia.
According to the allegations, the criminal group agreed with Debbie Voulgaris to pay a reward of just US$1800US (AU$2700), along with the costs of accommodation and transport.
Authorities allegedly discovered 7kg of cocaine and heroin inside her luggage (pictured)
Voulgaris was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport (pictured) in December
The group allegedly gave her luggage to take on the flight that secretly contained around US$1.25million (AU$1.88m) worth of heroin and cocaine, which was picked up by the airport’s x-ray screening.
In May, Mr Voulgaris angrily denounced the allegations, saying he first met the overseas group 16 years ago and they had remained in regular contact for business purposes.
‘She is bloody innocent!’ he raged. ‘We have been set up!
‘We don’t know anything about bloody drugs and have never seen or touched them in our lives.’
He added: ‘All we were doing was an overseas investment.
‘They wanted to invest. I sent $3million out of my money…
‘When I found out [about her arrest], I tried to get in contact with them but they switched off their phones. She hasn’t done anything wrong.’
The case remains before the courts.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk