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LONDON: David James Roach, who is suspected of robbing the Standard Chartered Bank branch in Holland Village in 2016, is planning to contest his extradition to Singapore, his lawyer told Channel NewsAsia.

The Canadian appeared in a London court on Thursday (Jan 18). It was the second time he has appeared in court following his arrest by British police a week ago.



Wearing a grey T-shirt, he appeared relaxed via video link from a prison in South London.

The only time he spoke was to confirm his name and date of birth, as well as to say he understood the judge when told about his next hearing on Feb 15.



The judge also explained in court that Singapore has until Feb 22 to officially lodge extradition papers. The hearing lasted for only a few minutes.



Roach's lawyer, Sundeep Pankhania, told Channel NewsAsia that he plans to contest extradition from the UK to Singapore.





In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, a spokesperson from Singapore's Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) said on Friday that along with the Ministry of Home Affairs, it is in touch with UK authorities regarding the extradition application.



"As the extradition process is ongoing, we are unable to provide any further comments at this time," the spokesperson added.

Singapore had asked Thai authorities to repatriate Roach but they decided to deport him to Canada instead.

Roach, 28, was en route to Canada when he was detained at London's Heathrow Airport by officers from the Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit.

The AGC and MHA said on Monday that they had asked British authorities to arrest Roach and extradite him to face charges in Singapore.

He was previously jailed for 14 months in Thailand, where he fled to after allegedly stealing S$30,000 in Singapore. He was held for failing to declare such a large amount of money when he arrived.

Singapore has an extradition treaty with Britain but not with Thailand.