Angel Mou Pui Peng
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Angel Mou Pui Peng | |
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| Add a Photo | |
| Born | January 1, 1970 Macau |
| Died | January 6, 1995 (aged 25) Changi Prison, Singapore |
| Nationality | Macau Portuguese |
| Occupation | Cashier, Sales clerk |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Drug trafficking |
| Criminal penalty | Capital punishment |
Angel Mou Pui Peng was a Macau national executed in Singapore for drug trafficking.
Biography
Born in Macau in 1970, Angel Mou Pui Peng was a resident of Hong Kong at the time of her arrest.[1][2]
Background
In the summer of 1991, Angel asked her younger sister Mei Mei if she would be willing to carry "something" from Thailand to Taiwan, hidden inside a pair of platform shoes. After she agreed, on 24 July 1991 they went to the Garden Restaurant in Sham Shui Po where they met two men, 'Ah Hung' (later identified as Sia Khim-meng) and 'Peter', and they received $10,000 each in advance of their $50,000 fee for the trip.
Arriving in Bangkok on 24 August 1991, they met Ah Hung, who after a few days told them there was a change of plan: instead of high-heeled shoes they would be given bags to carry, and that instead of Taiwan they would be going to Singapore and then to Europe to deliver the goods. Mei Mei later said she thought they would be carrying contraband Rolex wristwatches to Amsterdam. That night, the sisters were split up and moved into different hotels, and the next day Angel was sent on a flight to Singapore. After learning of Angel's arrest, Ah Hung rerouted Mei Mei's flight to Zurich via Seoul (without informing her of what happened to Angel). Mei Mei only learned of her sister's fate when she arrived back in Hong Kong from Holland and was met at Kai Tak airport by narcotics bureau detectives from the Royal Hong Kong Police..[3].
Arrest at Changi Airport
Angel arrived at Changi Airport on 29 August 1991, where her behavior caught the attention of a customs officer. At baggage conveyor belt number 17 on the West wing of Terminal 1, she picked up her bag but then hesitated and dropped it, allowing the bag to go around another time before picking it up. After she put the bag on her trolley and started wheeling it towards the exit of the Arrivals hall, she was stopped by customs officers and asked to open her bag. Her nervous demeanor raised the suspicion of the officials,[4] who escorted her to the Customs Duty office, where a more through search could be conducted. The bag was emptied and placed on a weighing scale, which showed a weight of 7 kilograms. Cutting through the bag's false bottom, the officers discovered 20 blocks of heroin, weighing a total of 4 kilograms (with an estimated street value of $3 million)[5]. On 30 August 1991, Angel was charged with the importation of the heroin discovered in her bag[6]
Trial
In the opening statements of her trial on 2 March 1993, customs officer Rosli Brahim testified how Angel was one of the last passengers to retrieve her bag from the carousel, and appeared nervous by frequently looking at her surroundings, at the immigration officers, and at the customs officers. She was then stopped by customs officer Suriati Mohamed, who asked for her passport and then told her to open her bag. Suspecting the bag had a false bottom, they escorted her to the Customs Duty office and subsequently discovered the hidden drugs after cutting open the bag. [7]
Angel testified in her defence that she was a part time prostitute sent by her pimp to Singapore to service a client. The pimp then packed her bag without her knowledge while she was taking a bath in a Bangkok hotel, and he also carried the bag and checked it in for her at the airport. She claimed to have had no knowledge of the drugs in her bag before she set off for Singapore[5].
Verdict
On 11 March 1993, Angel was found guilty as charged and sentenced to death for importing 4 kilograms of heroin into Singapore, contrary to Section 7 of the Misuse of Drugs Act (Singapore). Judicial Commissioner Amarjeet Singh rejected her defence as "not credible"[8].
Appeals
On 11 July 1994, Angel's appeal against her death sentence was rejected by Singapore’s Court of Criminal Appeal[9][10]
Conviction of Sia Khim Meng in Hong Kong
On 29 November 1993, Malaysian national Sia Khim Meng (who the sisters knew as 'Ah Hung') pled guilty in the Supreme Court (Hong Kong) to a charge of assisting people in Hong Kong to commit an offence outside the territory, the first conviction of its kind for that offence in Hong Kong legal history.[11] He was later sentenced to 4 and a half years in prison.[12] Mei Mei testified as the principal witness against Sia Khim Meng during his trial,[13] identifying him as the syndicate member who packed the sisters' bags with heroin[14]. Despite this, she had written letter to him pleading he inform Singapore authorities that Angel was unaware of what was hidden by him in her bag (he never replied to her)[15]. Sia Khim Meng was released from prison on 10 October 1994 and then deported to China.
Execution
On the morning of 6 January 1995, Angel Mou Pui Peng was hanged at Changi Prison[16][17]. Her execution was postponed from its original date (22 December 1994) so her family could visit her in prison over the Christmas period.[18][19]
Angel's case was given wide coverage by the Portuguese media, with frequent daily updates on both television and radio in the lead up to her execution.[20][21]Many appeals were previously made by politicians world wide for the commutation of Angel's death sentence, including a landmark intervention by the President of Portugal Mario Soares [22][23][24][25][26][27], along with other diplomatic efforts from the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Barroso [28] and the Governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten. The governor of Macau, Vasco Rocha Vieira, condemned her execution as "incomprehensible and even revolting" while also expressing "deep sorrow" at Angel's death and feelings of "solidarity" with her family, while Chris Patten was quoted as saying he "deeply regrets the death penalty anywhere" and that he wished to express "deep sympathy and condolences" to Angel's family in Hong Kong.[29][30]
References
- ↑ "mother hanged as drug-runner". The Independent. 7 January 1995.
- ↑ "Singapore hangs HK drug trafficker". UPI. 5 January 1995.
- ↑ "ROPED ON DEATH ROW". South China Morning Post. 13 March 1994.
- ↑ "Macau woman arrested in $5m heroin bust at airport". Straits Times (Overseas edition). 1 September 1991.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Courier on the road to death". The Straits Times. 7 January 1995.
- ↑ "Macau woman on drug charge". The Straits Times. 31 August 1991.
- ↑ "Woman hid drug in false bottom bag, court is told". The Straits Times. 3 March 1993.
- ↑ "IN THE COURTS". The Straits Times. 12 March 1993.
- ↑ "HK woman convicted on drug charge loses appeal". The Straits Times. 12 July 1994.
- ↑ "UA 309/94 - Singapore: death penalty: Angel Mou Puipeng". Amnesty International.
- ↑ "Malaysian convicted of abetting crime abroad". South China Morning Post. 30 November 1993.
- ↑ "Man who recruited drug courier 'paid his lawyers $283,000'h". The Straits Times. 10 January 1995.
- ↑ "Singapore: death penalty: Angel Mou Puipeng". Amnesty International. 22 August 1994.
- ↑ "Angel's last prayer". South China Morning Post. 11 September 1994.
- ↑ "Mother pleads for trafficker Angel's life". South China Morning Post. 15 December 1994.
- ↑ "Hongkong woman hanged for drug trafficking". The Straits Times. 7 January 1995.
- ↑ "mother hanged as drug-runner". The Independent. 7 January 1995.
- ↑ "Condemned drug trafficker gets Xmas reprieve". UPI.
- ↑ "Angel Mou Pui Peng". www.capitalpunishmentuk.org.
- ↑ "Appeal by family gives death row woman more time". The Straits Times. 24 December 1994.
- ↑ "Angel Pui Peng: uma morte anunciada". CNN Portugal. 22 December 1994.
- ↑ "Lisbon clemency bid for trafficker". UPI. 7 August 1994.
- ↑ "Plea for Angel". South China Morning Post. 21 December 1994.
- ↑ "mother hanged as drug-runner". The Independent. 7 January 1995.
- ↑ "Singapore hangs HK drug trafficker". UPI. 5 January 1995.
- ↑ "Angel's last prayer". South China Morning Post. 11 September 1994.
- ↑ "Hong Kong woman to hang in Singapore". UPI. 12 December 1994.
- ↑ "Execução de Angel Pui Peng". RTP. 6 January 1995.
- ↑ "Angel's hanging condemned as 'revolting' act". South China Morning Post. 7 January 1995.
- ↑ "Cingapura enforca portuguesa por tráfico". Folha De S Paulo. 7 January 1995.
External links
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