22YO SMU Undergraduate Drowns While Holidaying Alone in Taiwan

Most of us would have gone on a grad trip with our friends and peers to reward ourselves for graduating from university.

Others could choose to take a solo trip to enjoy some peace and solitude after all the months of cramming for exams.

For one law undergraduate who studied at the Singapore Management University (SMU), the choice of a solo grad trip went wrong as she died alone in a foreign country.

Here is what happened.

22-Year-Old Law Undergraduate Drowns in Taiwan

Ms Amellia Moo Wen Si was a 22-year-old law undergraduate with a promising future ahead of her. She had just finished her law school exams at SMU and went on a trip to Taiwan to reward herself.

She was due to start studying for the Singapore Bar exams this August and commence her traineeship at a law firm next January.

Unfortunately, all these grand plans were cut short when Ms Moo passed away in Taiwan.

The cause of her death is still under investigation, but authorities have said that Ms Moo was found caught in some fishing nets off the waters near the Hualien country.

Ms Moo’s parents, Adeleen Chia, 53, and Peter Moo, 52, spoke to AsiaOne about their daughter’s death.

According to the duo, Ms Moo had previously travelled on her own, so they did not worry too much about her solo travellers this time around.

Ms Moo was in constant contact with her parents right up until two days before she was due to return to Singapore. On 6 May, Ms Moo stopped responding to her parents’ messages.

This set off alarm bells for Ms Moo’s parents, who contacted the Taiwanese police to report their daughter’s absence shortly after.

Mr and Mrs Moo also alerted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Trade Office in Taipei to the incident involving their daughter.

They also called the hotel that Ms Moo stayed in, Hotel Bayview, as part of their search for their daughter. According to them, the staff at the hotel knew that Ms Moo was missing since she missed her check-out date of 8 May.

Her Father Suspects This Is What Happened to Her

Up until now, the circumstances surrounding Ms Moo’s death are not clear. She was found caught in some fishing nets near the coast of Beipu Village on the morning of 7 May, a day after she stopped contacting others.

Close-circuit television footage showed Ms Moo walking down a beach near her hotel at around 6 pm on 6 May, slightly before she became uncontactable.

Preliminary investigations suggest that Ms Moo drowned. The Taiwanese police also ruled out foul play as the cause of death.

The possibility of sexual assault or injury by others was also ruled out.

Investigations are still ongoing after the case was reopened when Ms Moo’s relatives identified her body. The police had initially thought Ms Moo was a Taiwanese local as she did not have any identification on her and closed the case.

An autopsy has been performed on Ms Moo, and the results will be out after approximately two months.

Ms Moo’s family also does not think that suicide is a possible option. According to them, Ms Moo was having a good time in Taiwan before she went missing and even met with other family members who were also in Taiwan at the same time.

Also, Ms Moo did not seem unhappy and did not behave strangely before her death.

She also had a full life lined up ahead of her in terms of studying for the Singapore Bar and training to be a lawyer.

Ms Moo’s mother shared that Ms Moo spent a lot of time studying for her exams before her trip, and this was not the behaviour of someone who wanted to give up on life.

According to Ms Moo’s mother, Ms Moo was one who “treasured her life a lot” and could not have wanted to end her life.

Instead, they suspect that Ms Moo may have drowned after she was chased by dogs and slipped. Ms Moo was not able to swim.

Ms Moo’s father and other family members shared that they heard that the area where Ms Moo was last seen taking a walk had many dogs. Ms Moo was afraid of dogs and may have fallen while escaping being chased by dogs.

The fall could have knocked Ms Moo unconscious.

This hypothesis was strengthened by the investigations conducted by Ms Moo’s family, who flew to Taiwan to identify Ms Moo’s body.

According to Ms Moo’s family, the waters off the beach near where Ms Moo was found were choppy, and there were strong winds.

These could have contributed to Ms Moo’s drowning as she could not swim and could have been carried away by the strong currents.

Ms Moo’s mother also shared her sadness that her daughter passed away alone and in pain, with nobody to care for her when she was in danger.

Yong Pung How School of Law Will Organise a Memorial Service

Ms Moo would have been part of the graduating cohort to be celebrated by the Yong Pung How School of Law this July.

Unfortunately, Ms Moo’s friends will have to carry on with the graduation celebrations without her.

To help peers and professors come to terms with Ms Moo’s passing, the law school plans to organise a “memorial service for her classmates and family”, said an SMU spokesperson who spoke to The Straits Times.

The university will also offer counselling support to her classmates who may be finding it difficult to accept Ms Moo’s passing.