Singapore: Australian TV reporter Peter Lloyd will plead guilty in Singapore to charges of drug consumption and possession after the government dropped trafficking counts, a news report said.
Lloyd, 41, will plead guilty and receive sentencing on Dec 2,his lawyer Hamidul Haq was quoted as saying by ChannelNews Asia. Haq was not immediately available for comment.
Lloyd could be sentenced to 10 years in jail, a fine, or both for drug consumption, the most serious of the remaining charges.
Lloyd was arrested in July after being caught by police with a small amount of methamphetamine. He faced punishment on the trafficking charges of up to 20 years in jail and 15 cane strokes.
The New Delhi-based South Asia correspondent of the Australian Broadcasting Corp is free on USD 43,600 bail.
The journalist has been the face of ABC s coverage from India and Pakistan, appearing regularly on the network s nationally broadcast daily news. Lloyd was in Singapore on leave when he was arrested by narcotics officers during an investigation of a man to whom Lloyd allegedly sold the drugs.
Singapore imposes severe penalties for drug use and possession, including a mandatory death penalty for anyone caught with more than half an ounce (15 grams) of heroin or more than 17 1/2 ounces (500 grams) of marijuana.
