Lloyd was planning to return to Australia next month. He was due to start a new job in October, as co-host of Breakfast News on ABC2 with Virginia Trioli. Instead, he was taken last night to the Changi prison hospital as the ABC dispatched its top lawyer to Singapore, which has some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he would take personal interest in the case when he travelled to Singapore next week. "I'll be in a position to speak first hand to our high commissioner, and ensure personally that anything that we can do in terms of consular assistance is done for Mr Lloyd and his family," he said. Lloyd's former partner Kirsty McIvor, with whom he has two boys, declined to comment.

Lloyd was on leave in Singapore when he was arrested around 8.30pm on Wednesday. "In the course of follow-up search, the officers recovered a packet of 'ice' weighing approximately 0.8 grams, one improvised smoking pipe and six syringes. His urine was screened positive for amphetamines, a controlled drug, on the instant urine test machine," said a statement from Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau. He was arrested after being identified as the alleged "supplier" of ice to a 31-year-old Singaporean "male drug abuser". The Singaporean man had been arrested earlier and allegedly found in possession of ice. Another four Singaporeans were arrested in the same bust. A bureau spokeswoman said Lloyd had been offered bail and his case would return to court on July 25.

Singapore lawyer Shashi Nathan said a bail surety of up to $53,000 may have to be provided. Mr Smith said Lloyd's arrest served as a reminder that Australians must abide by foreign countries' drug laws. Lloyd is a respected reporter who covered the case of Australian Nguyen Tuong Van, who was hanged in Singapore in 2005 for trafficking 396 grams of heroin despite appeals for clemency from the Australian government and public. In 2004, Briton Nigel Simmonds, a former magazine editor, was sentenced to two years' jail after he pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing 0.48 grams of ice and consuming ice and cocaine. If found guilty, Lloyd could face between five and 20 years' jail and between five and 15 strokes of the cane.

Lloyd will appear in Singapore's District Court before a single judge. He could then appeal to the Supreme Court. If a conviction is still upheld, Lloyd can appeal to the Singaporean President for clemency. Diplomatic approaches can be made to the Singaporean Attorney-General, who has the power to decide not to prosecute. Singaporean lawyer Joseph Theseira, who represented Van, said it was not out of the question that Lloyd's charges could be withdrawn by the Attorney-General because "we don't know anything about the person he is alleged to have received the drugs and his credibility". Lloyd has had an extensive career on commercial TV networks and the ABC. He has twice been a finalist in the prestigious Walkley awards and last year won a United Nations Media Peace prize. Lloyd was based in Bangkok between 2002 and 2006 before being posted to New Delhi. He led the ABC's coverage of the Schapelle Corby and Bali nine drug trials. Ash Khan, an Australian journalist in Bangladesh who worked as Lloyd's fixer, described him as a hard worker and "a really fun guy, really on the go".

ABC colleagues were yesterday in shock. "Peter Lloyd is very highly regarded here," said veteran broadcaster Quentin Dempster. Radio presenter Monica Attard described Lloyd as a "very fine correspondent with an eye for detail and a good deal of compassion". Commenting on the rewards and risks of covering international disasters in the February 2005 issue of Inside the ABC, Lloyd said a tip from a contact led to exclusive footage of devastation wreaked by the tsunami at Khao Lok in Thailand. "But in the haunting scenes of temples-turned-mortuaries there is a price to pay too, isn't there?"