ABC journo faces Singapore drug charges

ABC foreign correspondent Peter Lloyd has been charged with drug trafficking, court documents in Singapore show.

The documents shows Lloyd, 41, was charged with trafficking about one gram of methamphetamine to a Singaporean for 100 Singapore dollars ($A75) at a hotel early this month.

Lloyd faces a second charge for allegedly being in possession on Wednesday of about one gram of methamphetamine, also known as Ice, the charge sheet said.

If convicted on the trafficking charge, Lloyd faces between five and 20 years in jail and five to 15 strokes of the cane, the court documents said.

A statement from counter-narcotics officers in Singapore said investigations showed a 41-year-old Australian to be the "supplier" to a Singaporean drug abuser arrested on Wednesday.

"The Australian national was arrested and in the course of (a) follow-up search, the officers recovered a packet of 'Ice' weighing approximately 0.8 grams, one improvised smoking pipe and six syringes," the Central Narcotics Bureau said.

It did not name the Australian but said he was under investigation for trafficking in a controlled drug.

Lloyd is on leave in Singapore from his posting in New Delhi, the director of ABC News, John Cameron, said on the network's website.

It said the ABC had not been told the full details of the case, but the organisation is in close contact with consular officials and was also taking steps to ensure Lloyd is given appropriate legal representation.

Mr Lloyd, 41, is a respected reporter who covered the case of Australian Nguyen Tuong Van, executed by Singapore in 2005 for heroin trafficking.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith will be in Singapore next week for ASEAN-related issues and will discuss Mr Lloyd's case with the Australian high commissioner.

"I'll be in a position to speak firsthand to the high commissioner and ensure personally that anything we can do when it comes to consular assistance is done for Mr Lloyd and his family," he said.

Mr Lloyd's estranged wife Kirsty McIvor declined to comment, saying she was too upset. The couple has two children.

Mr Lloyd had been expected to return to Australia to start work as the host of the ABC2 television channel's new breakfast show from September.

He was appointed to the ABC's South Asia bureau in mid-2002, reporting on India, Pakistan, Afghanistan , Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives.

In recent years he has also covered South-East Asian nations, including Singapore.

His reports on the Bali bombings and later the tsunami earned him several Walkley Award nominations.

A journalist since 1985, Mr Lloyd joined the ABC in 1988, working in the Sydney TV newsroom for three years before moving to Britain to work for the BBC and British Sky News.

He returned to Australia to spend a decade in commercial television news and current affairs before rejoining the ABC in 2000.