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RIVER RYAN, N.S. — A River Ryan man will know within a few days if he will be heading to Singapore to face robbery and money laundering charges.

A Home Office spokesperson in the United Kingdom said the decision on the extradition of David James Roach requested from Singapore, is currently with the Home Secretary who had two months to make the decision before an Oct. 31 deadline. If the Home Secretary decides to extradite, it is expected that it would take at least a couple of weeks for the move to take place.

In a story on the extradition hearing in the Post on Aug. 29, a Westminister Magistrates' Court judge ruled the requirements for Singapore's extradition request for Roach have been met and sent the case to the Home Secretary to make the decision.

The spokesperson said the Home Secretary can only consider four issues in his decision.

• Whether the person is at risk of the death penalty.

• Whether speciality arrangements are in place to ensure the extradition is in respect of the conduct for which extradition was ordered.

• Whether the person concerned has previously been extradited from another country to the UK and the consent of that country to his onward extradition is required.

• Whether the person has previously been transferred to the UK by the International Criminal Court.

Roach is accused of robbing a Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore on July 7, 2016. Two days later, he was arrested in Thailand. In June 2017, Roach was sentenced to 14 months in jail for violating money laundering and customs laws by bringing money from a robbery into the country.

After serving his sentence Thailand deported Roach to Canada on Jan. 11 but he was arrested in London during the layover on a request from Singapore authorities.

Roach’s extradition is being sought on one count of robbery which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a mandatory minimum of six strokes of the cane as well as one count of money laundering which also comes with a 10-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine.

Singapore has an extradition arrangement with Britain. However, the British government requested assurance that if Roach is convicted of robbery he will not be subjected to caning. The Singapore government agreed to the request.

According to an earlier story in The Straits Times in Singapore, the written judgment by the Westminster Magistrates' Court during the extradition hearing in August included information pertaining to long time health issues being experienced by Roach including acne and stomach problems.

A psychological assessment also found that he showed symptoms of depressive illness and might have suffered a mild depressive episode prior to the alleged robbery on July 7, 2016. The newspaper also reported the judgment papers revealed concerns by Roach against his extradition including claims that Singapore's prison conditions would violate his human rights and that Singapore would not keep its promise not to cane him.

sharon.montgomery@cbpost.com