Australian drug smuggler to hang

A Singapore court has sentenced an Australian man to death by hanging after he admitted trying to smuggle 400 grams of heroin.

Nguyen Toung Van, 23, of Vietnamese origin was arrested two years ago while trying to board a flight to Australia.

He is expected to appeal. Australia's government says it will appeal for clemency if his appeal fails.

Correspondents say anyone caught with more than 15g of heroin faces a mandatory death penalty in Singapore.

Singapore has some of the toughest drug trafficking laws in Asia.

A recent human rights report said Singapore had the highest number of executions per capita in the world.