Australian woman escapes death sentence for drug trafficking in Malaysia

Judge accepts Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto had no knowledge of drugs in her bag in verdict on charge that carries a mandatory death sentence

An Australian woman has been found not guilty of drug trafficking in Malaysia, a charge that carries a mandatory death sentence.

On Wednesday afternoon a Malaysian judge found that Maria Elvira Pinto Exposto did not know that there were drugs in her bag when customs officials found 1.1kg of ice – a potent form of methamphetamine – in her luggage at Kuala Lumpur airport in December 2014.

Exposto’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said the judge was convinced of her innocence after hearing his client did not try to bypass searches at the airport.

“The judge described her as naive, not merely innocent but naive,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

After the hearing the judge ordered Exposto’s deportation from Malaysia, and she is currently being held in immigration detention.

However the prosecution has indicated that it will appeal the decision, meaning that she is unlikely to be able to leave the country in the near future.

Instead, Exposto’s lawyers have said that once an appeal is lodged they will file a bail application so that she can leave custody but remain in the country.

Earlier Exposto’s lawyers had said their client would have been given a mandatory sentence of death by hanging if she was found guilty in the Malaysian high court.

A 54-year-old grandmother and mother of four from Sydney, Exposto was arrested in December 2014 at Kuala Lumpur airport en route from Shanghai to Australia.

But her lawyers argued Exposto was the victim of an online romance scam and believed she was in Shanghai to collect documents for her online boyfriend’s retirement from service in the US army to take to an embassy in Australia.

Farhan Shafee, one of Exposto’s lawyers, said his client was the “victim of an internet romance scam”, most likely from west Africa.

“When she was in Australia, Maria developed an online relationship with someone who she thought and perceived to be a captain in US army, stationed in Afghanistan,” Shafee told the Guardian.

“This relationship developed for [about] a year, and during that time she’d given money to this online presence, believing that once he was discharged from the military they would be united and live happy ever after together in Australia.”

Exposto said that before leaving Shanghai she was handed the bag containing the drugs by a friend of her online boyfriend’s and only saw clothes inside. But customs officials noticed an item inside that appeared “green” during scans of Exposto’s belongings at Kuala Lumpur airport.

Upon closer inspection, they found odd pink and brown stitching at the back of the backpack.

When they opened the stitching, grey packages were inside, customs official Mohd Noor Nashariq told the Shah Alam high court last year.

Exposto’s lawyers said her behaviour before the arrest suggested she was “a victim” rather than a trafficker.

Despite being able to remain in the transit area of the airport before her connecting flight to Australia, Exposto unnecessarily passed through customs and willingly approached officials to have her bags checked.

“Unlike in Australia, in Malaysia customs doesn’t check everyone, so they would do a random selection as you pass through. But Maria voluntarily went and put her bag on the x-ray machine,” Shafee said.

Malaysia has a mandatory death penalty by hanging for anyone found guilty of carrying more than 50 grams of a drug.

In August the Malaysian government agreed to scrap the mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers by giving judges the discretion to give a life sentence in prison.

However the change is yet to be ratified, and Exposto’s lawyers warned she faced a mandatory death sentence if convicted.

Three Australian nationals have been executed by the state: Michael McAuliffe in 1993, and Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers in 1986.

Source: The Guardian, Michael McGowan, December 27, 2017

⚑ | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com.

Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death. Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months.

Texas House chairman wants child rapists eligible for death penalty

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Under current Supreme Court precedent, states cannot execute someone for raping a child if the victim survives. That’s not stopping State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-McKinney. “We’re going to have a debate in this building behind me about the death penalty being on the table for any Texan who rapes a child,” Leach, the chair of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, said. Leach made the comments while hosting a news conference supporting his client, abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire.

Israel | Ben Gvir discusses death penalty for Neveh Tzuf terrorist hours before Yom Kippur

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the Neveh Tzuf terrorist during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two hours before the start of Yom Kippur on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the terrorist responsible for the attack in Neveh Tzuf during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had reportedly convened the meeting in response to the security situation in the West Bank following the Sunday terror attack.

Texas set to execute second man convicted in 2005 South Texas triple murder

Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey is scheduled to die Wednesday, one week after the state executed his co-defendant for the same killings. Texas is scheduled to execute a man on Wednesday for the 2005 shooting deaths of three people during a botched robbery in a small South Texas town, just one week after the state put his co-defendant to death for the same crime. Ker’Sean Olajuwa Ramey, 41, is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday evening at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

Tennessee Supreme Court denies stay for death row inmate Christa Pike

(TNND) — As Tennessee prepares for a Sept. 30 execution, the Tennessee Supreme Court has denied death row inmate Christa Gail Pike’s request to stop it. The court rejected Pike’s challenge to the state’s lethal-injection protocol, finding that her thrombocytosis diagnosis, a condition involving elevated blood platelets, did not show the execution would violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Florida | Tomasz Kosowski found guilty of murder after representing himself in death penalty case

Tomasz Kosowski sat each day alone at the defense table, wearing orange jail garb and rubber sandals with socks. In a rare and largely unprecedented move for a death penalty case, Kosowski represented himself, waiving his right to a jury trial and allowing a judge in Pinellas County, Florida, to decide his fate. Prosecutors presented the state’s case over six days, laying out for the judge how the former plastic surgeon accosted Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of his law office on a Tuesday morning, and Cozzi was never seen again.

Philippines | President Marcos Grants Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso

President Marcos Confirms Decision to Grant Absolute Pardon to Mary Jane Veloso President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed an absolute pardon for Mary Jane Veloso after more than a decade. On Friday (September 25, 2026), the President confirmed the decision during a visit to Guiuan, Eastern Samar. According to him, the pardon was officially signed the previous day, marking a major development in the case.

Tennessee | Christa Pike Requests Clemency Ahead of September 30 Execution Date; Experts’ Amicus Brief Points to ‘Substantial Risk’ of Re-traumatization

Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemency petition with Governor Bill Lee, asking him to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole ahead of her September 30 execution date. Ms. Pike’s clemency petition outlines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old cannot be separated from a childhood marked by repeated rape, sexual abuse, and neglect that went unaddressed by the adults and state systems meant to protect her. Once incarcerated, Ms. Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed." SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog