UPDATE: Australian Grandmother Sentenced to Death in Malaysia Due to Romance Scam
(ABC News Samantha Hawley)
Many of my readers will remember a story I covered back in September of 2017 about an Australian Grandmother who had been arrested in Malaysia after being the victim of an online romance scam. The original story is as follows:
"A 54-year-old grandmother Marie Exposta from Sydney, Austrailia fell for a man online who identified himself as "Captain Daniel Smith". Smith claimed to be a U.S. Soldier based in Afghanistan.After dating online for over two years, Smith asked her to transport a backpack full of clothes from Shanghai to Melbourne. En route, she was arrested in Malaysia when it was discovered the 1.5kg of methamphetamine was stitched inside of a secret compartment.She had no idea the drugs were hidden inside"
After being arrested the judge decided in the original court ruling that the Grandmother was indeed a victim of romance fraud, and had been carefully groomed for two years by the scammer. He found her not-guilty of the crime. It was an unprecedented case since it was the first time a judge took into account a romance scam as a favorable mitigating factor for the defendant.
UPDATE: In a new appeal the previous judges decision has been overturned. Exposta is now found guilty of the crime of drug trafficking and sentenced to death by hanging, the punishment in Malaysia. Her lawyers are considering a new appeal.
THE FULL ARTICLE by ABC Australia looks into other cases like Marie's and also looks at Romance scams in general and how to avoid them. Definitely a good read.