Australian journalist charged with drug trafficking and possession
By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 18 July 2008 1937 hrs

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	Related News • Australian TV journalist arrested in S'pore on drug charges

SINGAPORE : An Australian journalist has been charged with drug trafficking and possession in Singapore.

41-year-old Australian Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Peter Lloyd was arrested on Wednesday.

Investigators believe Lloyd may have supplied drugs to a Singaporean who was arrested separately.

Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) officers seized from him a packet of designer drug 'ice' or methamphetamine weighing some 0.8 grammes, one improvised smoking pipe and six syringes.

Reporters and photographers staked out the Subordinate Court for hours on Friday, expecting to see Lloyd turning up in court to be charged.

But that did not happen. The CNB confirmed that Lloyd was actually charged on Friday afternoon at the Changi General Hospital, where he is being treated for a serious eye infection which he contracted while on leave in Singapore.

Bail has also been offered to him, although CNB did not state the amount of the bail.

Lloyd is due to appear in court again next Friday. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to 20 years in jail and 15 strokes of the cane. - CNA/ms