Briton charged with double murder

Michael McCrea was placed back into custody

A UK salesman has been charged with the murder of two people in Singapore after being extradited from Australia.

Michael McCrea, 47, from Nottingham, was charged with the murder of his chauffeur Kho Nai Guan, 46 and the driver's girlfriend Lan Ya Ming, 30.

The bodies were found in a car five days after Mr McCrea and his girlfriend Audrey Ong, 23, had left for Australia.

Mr McCrea denies killing them in January 2002. He was taken back into custody after a short hearing.

Interpol arrest

Ms Ong has already been sentenced to 12 years after she admitted helping to dispose of the bodies.

Mr McCrea had fought a decision by the Australian Government to extradite him to Singapore.

A murder conviction in Singapore normally carries a death penalty but the government has reportedly given assurances that Mr McCrea would not be hanged if found guilty.

The assurance is part of an agreement which meant the Australian authorities agreed to extradite him.

Mr McCrea's lawyer, Michael Lim, said he was confident the charges would be watered down to accommodate the extradition agreement between the Singapore and Australian governments.

"Yes, he's charged for murder, which carries the capital punishment of death. But I'm sure the Singapore government will honour its undertaking to the Australian Government," Mr Lim said.

Mr McCrea had been in custody in Melbourne since June 2002 after being arrested on a warrant issued by Interpol.

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, the former insurance salesman and financial advisor made a brief appearance at the Subordinate Courts before being remanded back into custody.

The Falklands War veteran wrote to BBC News Interactive from jail in Australia in 2002.

The former financial advisor said he had received "zero help" from the British authorities and had no response from a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He had wanted his trial to take place on British soil.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman told BBC News Online at the time: "Our consular office are in contact with him and his next of kin, his spouse."

She said: "We cannot intervene in the extradition. It is a matter between Singapore and Australia. We have no locus to intervene.

"Our interest is to ensure that he has proper legal representation and is properly looked after in prison."