Béatrice Saubin (7 September 1959 – 2 November 2007) was a French woman convicted of drug smuggling in Malaysia who later wrote a best-selling book about her prison experiences.

Raised by her grandmother in Romilly-sur-Seine, she dropped out of high school and travelled to Thailand, then Malaysia, having affairs with men in each country.

She authored L'Épreuve (My Ordeal) (1991) about her prison experiences, and Quand la Porte S'Ouvre (When the Door Opens) (1995) about her return to freedom.

[5] Dropping out of high school, she travelled to Pakistan and Thailand, became engaged to a Thai man, ran out of money, and returned home to France, where she started working as a secretary.

[3][5] Returning to Thailand and not finding her fiancé, she travelled to Malaysia where she met a Malaysian named Eddie Tan Kim Soo.

[3] When Saubin's green Samsonite suitcase was put through the airport x-ray scanner upon check-in, officials discovered 22 packets containing 534 grams (1.177 lb) of pure grade heroin with a street value of over RM300,000 hidden in the lining.

[6][4][1] Saubin was arraigned before a Malaysian judge on charges of drug smuggling, as the government claimed she was planning to sell the heroin in France.

[6] In the appeal hearing on 17 June 1982,[8] Justice Datuk Bigley Lee Tian Huat of the Penang High Court sentenced Saubin to death by hanging.

[4] Saubin continued to maintain her innocence and garnered favourable public opinion both in France and Malaysia, where many locals believed her sentence to be too harsh.

[2][11] Responding to the public pressure,[10] on 25 August 1982, the Malaysian High Court reduced Saubin's sentence to life imprisonment.

[7] Following the reduction of her sentence, Saubin continued to receive public support and enjoyed special privileges as a "celebrity prisoner".

[3][14] In an article published in Le Point, Karen Berreby, a member of Saubin's legal team who visited her in prison on eleven occasions and interviewed her on tape for a total of 25 hours, questioned the factual accuracy of some scenes in the book.