Papos ‘devastated’ over trial outcome
THE mother of a former Mount Scopus College student who died of horrific injuries after a fight with a driver employed at a South Melbourne brothel told The AJN this week she and her family are “absolutely devastated” over the man’s acquittal.
THE mother of a former Mount Scopus College student who died of horrific injuries after a fight with a driver employed at a South Melbourne brothel told The AJN this week she and her family are “absolutely devastated” over the man’s acquittal.
After deliberating for two days, a jury in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday found De Jun (Kevin) Zheng, 34, not guilty of murder and not guilty on alternative charges of defensive homicide and manslaughter. Zheng had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Abraham Papo, 27, who had a relationship with a Korean woman working as a sex worker in Australian brothels, had sought out Zheng at Madam Leona’s on February 12, 2009, apparently believing Zheng knew about his girlfriend being held somewhere against her will.
The trial, before Justice Michael Croucher, was told Papo had stolen phones from the premises shortly before his fight with Zheng. When police arrived on the scene, Papo, who had the drug ice and other amphetamines in his system, was slumped in his car, either dead or dying from extensive injuries, including a broken nose, broken jaw, fractured skull, and dislocated trachea.
Fairfax Media reported after the trial that the jury was not told of Zheng’s alleged links to a sex slavery syndicate.
Papo’s brother David had told the jury Abraham met the Korean woman about six to eight months before his death. At one point she came to live with Abraham and his family at their Vermont South home.
The day before Abraham died, his brother had advised him to contact police after Abraham told him he was distressed about a phone call he had received from the woman and believed she was “raped and beaten and she was being held against her will”.
Deanna Papo, Abraham’s mother, told The AJN this week she and his father Marco had taken the verdict hard. “Obviously we’re absolutely devastated at the decision.”
She said she and her family will always remember Abraham as someone who stood up for his principles. “People have a higher expectation of the law, given all the brutal murders in our city.”
But she said she was heartened his violent end helped usher in the formation of the Victoria Police Sex Industry Coordination Unit last year to expose illegal activity in the sex industry and human trafficking.
PETER KOHN
Abraham Papo died of horrific injuries.
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