Uncertain future
River Ryan man facing extradition hearing in U.K. today
A River Ryan man accused of robbing a bank in Singapore will be in court in the United Kingdom today (Thursday, Jan. 18), for an extradition hearing.
Pete Davey, media and communications officer with the Metropolitan Police Service in London, said David James Roach, 28, was arrested on Jan. 11 at Heathrow Airport by officers from the Metropolitan Police Extradition Unit following a request from authorities in Singapore.
“Metropolitan police would have made the arrest as instructed by the Home Office,” Davey said in an email response to questions from the Cape Breton Post.
According to officials with the UK Home Office, Roach was being deported from Bangkok to Canada and was in transit in London when arrested.
Officials at the Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London said according to information in the court documents for the extradition hearing, on July 7, 2016 ,Roach stole money (about $30,000 Canadian) from Standard Chartered Bank’s Holland Village Park branch in Singapore and, in order to do so, put (the teller) in fear of being then the subject of force.
The documents list the hearing as in accordance with section 74 of the Extradition Act 2003.
Roach is accused of robbing the Singapore bank and then fleeing to Thailand with the money. On July 10, 2016, Roach was arrested at a backpacker’s hostel in Bangkok, Thailand.
When arrested Roach had $700,000 baht (about $27,000 Canadian) in his possession.
In June 2017 Roach was sentenced to 14 months in a Thailand jail for crimes linked to the robbery including violating money laundering and customs laws by bringing the money from the robbery into Thailand.
Thailand rejected Singapore’s request to extradite Roach last year. There is no extradition treaty between the two countries.
Roach was deported from Thailand last week after serving his sentence.
Singapore, however, does have an extradition treaty with the U.K., dating back to the mid 1930s.
Roach first appeared at Westminster Magistrates’s Court on Friday, Jan. 12, where he was remanded pending today’s hearing.
John Patrick Fitzgerald, executive assistant to Sydney-Victoria MP Mark Eyking, said they have been working with Roach, his family members and a lawyer since the beginning in trying to get him out of Thailand.
“We worked with the family, we worked with the lawyer, with the minister of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Global Affairs,” he said.
“We did everything we could to help on that end to assist.”
Fitzgerald said they cannot comment on actions their office has taken due to confidentiality issues with the family. However, he said, they haven’t heard from the family or lawyer since Roach was deported and detained in the U.K., which he believes could be because everyone is waiting to see what is going to happen next.
“I haven’t had any request from anyone looking for any assistance yet,” he said. “I don’t know if the extradition is going to go forward or not or what the consequences of that might be.
“I think it’s kind of up in the air now, a matter of what’s going to happen next. I assume the family is working with Global Affairs to see what the next steps will be.”
Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Philip Hannan has confirmed they are still providing consular services to Roach.