The ex-husband of a woman who blames him for her life behind bars in Taiwan is living a life of luxury with his glamorous second wife.
Debbie Voulgaris, 58, is serving a 15-year sentence for drug smuggling after being caught with $1.9million worth of Class A drugs at Taoyuan International Airport on December 10, 2023.
The mother-of-five had never been in trouble with the law and initially ‘vehemently denied’ knowing the drugs were there, but later pleaded guilty in a desperate bid to avoid execution.
Ms Voulgaris continues to insist she is innocent and believes she was set up by African scammers who had been communicating with her ex-husband, John.
Now going by the name Kyriacou, Ms Voulgaris’ ex-husband lives in Narre Warren, south-east of Melbourne, surrounded by million-dollar-plus homes.
Neighbours told Daily Mail the wealthy home loans boss had lived there for years with his wife Poppy and what appears to be adult children.
The couple have been together at least nine years, with images of their wedding posted online five years ago.
On Thursday, Mr Kyriacou, dressed in a blue tracksuit, refused to talk to the Daily Mail about his ex-wife’s comments made from behind bars.
John and Poppy Kyriacou have been happily married for years
‘I’m sorry,’ he said before slamming the door shut.
It is not being suggested that Mr Kyriacou was apologising for any of the allegations made by his ex-wife, or that he was involved in the importation of drugs to Taiwan.
He previously told the Daily Mail in May 2024 that he and his ex-wife had been set up by long-term business associates while trying to make an overseas investment.
But he ignored a subpoena ordering him to give evidence at Taoyuan District Court in August this year, and failed to appear as a defence witness at his ex-wife’s hearing.
During the hearing, Judge Chen Yen-Nien revealed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other authorities had confirmed Mr Kyriacou had received the documents, but he still did not turn up.
Ms Voulgaris’ lawyer at the time, Leon Huang, told the court it would be difficult to extradite him because he is an Australian citizen.
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.
Neighbours told the Daily Mail Mr Kyriacou was rarely seen outside, choosing to remain locked away inside his luxury home.
Debbie Voulgaris claims her ex-husband is the reason she continues to rot behind bars in Taiwan
Meanwhile, his former wife is wasting away inside a prison cell a world away from her once ordinary life in Australia.
Ms Voulgaris shares a cell with 10 other women and is allowed visitors on weekdays. They can only see her through a soundproof glass window, with conversations taking place on a phone.
Each meeting lasts just 15 minutes.
For the first eight months locked away, her children were not allowed to see her due to a non-communication order, but once the ban was lifted, they made a journey they could never never previously imagined.
Ms Voulgaris’ daughter Maria, 25, and her siblings now make regular trips to Taiwan to spend time with her after she narrowly avoided the death penalty.
She had never been in trouble with the law and initially ‘vehemently denied’ knowing the drugs were there, later pleading guilty in a bid to avoid being executed.
In a letter penned to her children from behind bars, Ms Voulgaris poured her heart out.
‘To my beautiful amazing Angels!’ the letter began. ‘My mind never leaves you. I love you all and miss you so much! You’re my life.’
A letter penned by Ms Voulgaris in jail to her children
Ms Voulgaris was arrested at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan on December 10, 2023
She continues to be caged behind the walls of one of Taiwan’s toughest prisons
Ms Voulgaris said she was doing ‘fine and well’ and thanked her family for a fundraiser that aims to help finance her eventual release.
The doting mum appeared more concerned about the health of her children than her own dire predicament.
‘All I want is for you to stay safe, eat well, look after each other and don’t worry about me. I’m in good hands,’ she wrote earlier this year.
Since her arrest, her children have fought tirelessly to clear her name. Now, against all odds, they’ve been given what could be their mother’s last chance of freedom.
‘It’s going to be amazing, she has finally got some positive news,’ her daughter Maria said, admitting that reaching this stage was a milestone in itself.
‘We didn’t think we had any hope. It’s once in a blue moon this happens and we truly thought it wasn’t going to happen.
‘It’s a potential retrial and could mean a whole new verdict. I can’t even eat, that’s how excited I am.’
According to facts tendered to the Taoyuan District Court, Ms Voulgaris landed in Malaysia on December 8, 2023, on a flight from Australia.
John and Poppy Kyriacou live an ordinary life in plush surroundings in Melbourne’s south-east
John and Poppy Kyriacou have been together for years. His ex-wife claims she got caught carrying drugs trying to help him out
John and Poppy Kyriacou during a Sydney adventure
There, she met a group linked to an African drug syndicate who gave her the suitcase.
She then travelled on to Taiwan, allegedly unaware that it was loaded with heroin and cocaine worth around US$1.25million (AU$1.88million).
The drugs were detected by the airport’s X-ray screening system.
Ms Voulgaris has consistently maintained she took the trip as a favour to her ex-husband, who was unwittingly caught up in a scam.
She said he believed she was collecting chemicals to clean ‘marked money’, and said she did not believe he would intentionally involve her in a crime.
Despite her guilty plea, Ms Voulgaris was handed a 16-year sentence – one of the harshest drug-related penalties ever given to an Australian overseas in recent years.
Her sentence was later reduced to 15 years by Taiwan’s High Court.
In July this year, Ms Voulgaris’ appeal was denied, with her daughter claiming it was the direct result of her father’s refusal to help.
‘My mother’s appeal was rejected by the Taiwanese court, simply because the man who caused this, my father, was not willing to provide any video evidence or take accountability,’ she wrote in a Facebook post at the time.
