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SMU undergrad missing while on solo Taiwan holiday drowned after falling into sea, parents told

2023-07-26 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE – A Singaporean woman who went missing while holidaying alone in Taiwan had drowned after falling into the sea, said the local authorities.

It was earlier reported that the body of Ms Amellia Moo Wen Si, 22, was found floating off the coast of Beipu village in Hualien on the morning of May 7. She had stopped replying to her parents’ text messages the night before.

Ms Moo’s mother, Ms Adeleen Chia, told The Straits Times that the Taiwanese authorities concluded that Ms Moo’s death was an accident and that there were no signs of external injuries nor drug use that could have caused her death.

The authorities also said that as a foreigner, Ms Moo might not have been familiar with the coastal area, which was experiencing high tide at about 7pm, said the 53-year-old accounts clerk.

Ms Chia and her husband flew to Taiwan on July 16 and collected Ms Moo’s death certificate the next day.

She added that the authorities also ruled out suicide and foul play.

However, it is still unclear how Ms Moo ended up falling in the water.

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“A possibility might be that there were a lot of stray dogs in the area, and my daughter might have been chased by them and fell into the sea,” said Ms Chia in Mandarin, adding that Ms Moo was afraid of dogs.

“We can only accept the result. I thought of pursuing further... but there is not much we can do.”

The Singapore Management University (SMU) law undergraduate, who has two younger sisters, had gone on the trip to Taiwan in April to celebrate the end of her examinations and was due to return to Singapore on May 8.

She became uncontactable on May 6. Her parents alerted the police in Taiwan the next day.

Ms Moo, who had completed the Bachelor of Laws programme in SMU, was to have attended a graduation ceremony on Tuesday.

Ms Chia said she and her husband would collect their daughter’s degree.