Peter Lloyd faces 20 years in jail and 15 strokes of a cane if convicted on serious drug charges.

ABC's director of news will travel to Singapore this week in the hope of speaking with the broadcaster's South Asia correspondent, Peter Lloyd, who faces 20 years in jail and 15 strokes of a cane if convicted on serious drug charges.<br />News boss John Cameron will be the second senior ABC executive to fly to Singapore - the head of ABC's legal services, Rob Simpson, arrived on Friday - following Lloyd's arrest on Thursday. <br />The journalist has been charged with trafficking about one gram of methamphetamine to a Singaporean for $S100 ($75) at a hotel early this month and for allegedly being in possession of about one gram of the stimulant methamphetamine, also known as ice.<br />The ABC was unwilling to comment on Lloyd's predicament yesterday, but in a statement said that Mr Simpson was yet to meet directly with Lloyd. <br />Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is also due to arrive in Singapore late tonight for previously arranged ASEAN discussions.<br />However, the minister's office said he was likely to engage the Singapore Government in discussions about Lloyd's case only if there were any limitations placed on normal consular access to Lloyd. Currently, the Australian high commissioner in Singapore is providing assistance facilitated by Singapore authorities.<br />Consular officials attended last week's private court hearing in the prison ward of Changi General Hospital where Lloyd, 41, was charged.He was being treated for an eye infection he contracted while on leave from his New Delhi posting. He was set to return to Australia next month to host a new breakfast program on ABC2.<br />A bail of $S60,000, with the surety of a Singapore national, has been placed upon Lloyd. It is not known whether he will meet those bail conditions.<br />Lloyd's next court hearing is scheduled for Friday.

Peter Lloyd faces 20 years in jail and 15 strokes of a cane if convicted on serious drug charges.

ABC's director of news will travel to Singapore this week in the hope of speaking with the broadcaster's South Asia correspondent, P...

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10 kilograms of heroin, their largest capture of the drug in five years.

Singapore anti-narcotics officers said yesterday they had seized almost 10 kilograms of heroin, their largest capture of the drug in five years.<br />The heroin along with small amounts of other drugs had a total street value of about 1.5 million Singapore dollars, the Central Narcotics Bureau said in a statement.<br />Officers also seized about 400,000 dollars in cash during Monday's operation, the bureau said.<br />The local drugs ring was led by a 38-year-old Singaporean man, who along with three drug couriers will be investigated for heroin trafficking, a crime punishable by death, it said.<br />"He obtained his supply of drugs directly from an overseas syndicate using both local and foreign couriers to smuggle the drugs in," the statement said.<br />A total of eight people were arrested but the bureau did not release their names. It said the syndicate leader and three drug couriers will be investigated for heroin trafficking.

10 kilograms of heroin, their largest capture of the drug in five years.

Singapore anti-narcotics officers said yesterday they had seized almost 10 kilograms of heroin, their largest capture of the drug in five ye...

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400 prisoners have been hanged in Singapore since 1991

400 prisoners have been hanged in Singapore since 1991, giving the small city-state possibly the highest execution rate in the world relative to its population of just over four million people. The execution figures include a significant percentage of foreign nationals. It is not known how many prisoners are currently on death row, but the shocking death toll from executions continues to rise.Most of those executed were convicted of drug trafficking

400 prisoners have been hanged in Singapore since 1991

400 prisoners have been hanged in Singapore since 1991, giving the small city-state possibly the highest execution rate in the world relativ...

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Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi

Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi was hanged just before dawn on 26 January 2007. He had been caught with 727 grams of heroin in the transit area of Changi airport 2 years ago we gloat over the mules that we capture. Once caught, we put them on a conveyor belt to the hangman's rope. With the mandatory death penalty, there's no room for mitigation; we aren't able to offer them a reduced sentence in return for information that might lead to the capture of the drug lord. Why should they help law enforcers when they're going to be hanged anyway?

Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi

Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi was hanged just before dawn on 26 January 2007. He had been caught with 727 grams of heroin in the transit area of Cha...

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