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$45,000 bail for jailed ABC reporter
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 By Marcus Casey and Steve Gee - July 21, 2008 - Article from: The Daily Telegraph
THE family of jailed ABC journalist Peter Lloyd were last night trying to raise $45,000 bail to free him from Singapore's Changi prison, where he is on remand facing drug charges.
ABC management also threw more resources towards Lloyd's plight with news chief John Cameron yesterday preparing to fly to Singapore to speak with the foreign correspondent in person.
Mr Cameron will join the ABC's head of legal services Rob Simpson, sent to Singapore on Saturday to co-ordinate the 41-year-old's legal defence.
Prominent local lawyer Sashi Nathan has already been hired to represent Lloyd, arrested last week on charges of trafficking and possessing almost 1g of the methamphetamine ice.
Lloyd was moved to the notorious Changi prison yesterday, and faces five to 15 strokes of the cane plus five to 20 years jail if found guilty.
The ABC would not comment on the taxpayer-funded body spending money in helping Lloyd, who was on leave at the time of the alleged offence.
But it is understood there are no official ABC guidelines to deal with such a case, and that management was acting out of an urgent "duty of care" for its employee.
The ABC is expected to review the matter later.
Australians charged overseas are visited by the local consulate or high commission, but funding for legal help is not automatic.
Lloyd, on holidays in Singapore for treatment for an infected eye, was charged after a 31-year-old Singaporean man was found in possession of the drug.
Lloyd last night spent his first evening in custody inside Singapore's notorious Changi prison while awaiting any bail application - which must be posted by a local.
Mr Nathan could not be contacted yesterday.
Lloyd's estranged wife, UNICEF Indonesia spokeswoman Kirstyn McIvor again declined to comment. A friend said the pair had marital difficulties stretching back 18 months. Their partnership ended when he came out as gay.
Lloyd's case is due to return to court for mention on Friday.
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ABC journo Lloyd released on bail
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 July 23, 2008
Veteran ABC journalist Peter Lloyd has been formally granted bail on drug charges in Singapore and has met with broadcasting executives for the first time since his arrest.
Lloyd, who is charged with possession and trafficking of the drug ice, is expected to leave custody later Wednesday after paperwork related to his bail is completed.
Local man Mohamed Mazlee Bin Abdul Malik - who is a friend of Lloyd's - posted surety of $45,000, meeting a requirement of Singapore's subordinate courts that a national of the city-state put up the money.
Lloyd, the ABC's South Asia correspondent, briefly faced the court wearing an orange shirt, his gaze fixed on the magistrate throughout the hearing.
Outside the court, ABC's news director John Cameron confirmed executives had met with Lloyd.
"The ABC put in appropriate measures as a duty of care in the first instance," Cameron said.
"Peter's defence from here on in is obviously a matter for him."
He said Lloyd appeared to have recovered from an eye inflection that saw him spend part of the week he's been in custody at a medical facility at the Changi Prison complex.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Lloyd had received consular assistance.
"We now simply await the normal judicial and legal processes to continue," he said on the sidelines of a meeting of regional officials in Singapore.
Smith said Lloyd's family was making plans to travel to Singapore.
"From Mr Lloyd's perspective, I hope that he is able to see his family as soon as possible," he said.
The 41-year-old, who is based in New Delhi, was arrested last week while on leave in Singapore.
He is charged with trafficking about one gram of methamphetamine to a Singaporean for 100 Singapore US dollars ($A75) at a hotel early this month.
He also faces a second charge for allegedly being in possession of about one gram of ice.
If convicted of the trafficking charge, he faces between five and 20 years in jail and five to 15 strokes of the cane.
His case is to be heard again in court on Friday.
Under his bail conditions, Lloyd must remain in Singapore and report to the Narcotics Bureau three times a week.
A court official later confirmed that Lloyd was no longer in custody.
© 2008 AAP
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