Singapore has just moved one (small) step closer to finally having the dude, who allegedly robbed the Standard Chartered bank branch in Holland Village, extradited here to be charged in court.

Still remember David James Roach?

He's still being held in the United Kingdom, where he was arrested en route to Canada, his home country. He ended up there after being deported home from Bangkok, where he was jailed a year and two months for money-laundering and violations of currency regulations.

You can read the recap here:

And on Tuesday (Feb. 20) afternoon, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement that Singapore has agreed not to cane Roach should he be found guilty for his alleged crime.

The request for this undertaking wasn't a plea conveyed by Roach himself, but by the UK, which, interestingly enough, requires this under its extradition laws.

But hey, he'll still be facing these charges when he does get extradited here — one count of robbery under section 392 of the Penal Code and one count of money laundering under section 47(1)(b) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act.

In terms of jail time, both these offences provide for a maximum jail term of 10 years. But in Section 392, the offence of robbery comes with at least 6 strokes of the cane:

Unfortunately, all this notwithstanding, it still comes down to the decision of the UK Courts — whether or not the UK will actually eventually extradite Roach to Singapore.

So... will we get him? The answer right now is still akan datang.

Here's their statement in full:

David James Roach's Extradition Request and Accompanying Assurance

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The Singapore Government is working with UK authorities on the extradition of David James Roach to Singapore. As part of the extradition proceedings, the UK Government has requested an assurance that if Roach were to be found guilty by a Singapore Court of robbery, the sentence of corporal punishment will not be carried out.

The Singapore Government has agreed to the UK authorities’ request. UK extradition laws prohibit UK from extraditing Roach to Singapore in the absence of such an assurance. Roach’s extradition is being sought on one count of robbery under s 392 of the Penal Code and one count of money laundering under s 47(1)(b) of the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act. Both offences carry maximum imprisonment terms of 10 years.

The provision of the assurance is being done to try and ensure that Roach does not escape justice, and does not affect the general position taken by Singapore on corporal punishment. The UK Courts will decide whether to extradite Roach.

Ministry of Home Affairs

20 February 2018

(Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Section 392 of the Penal Code does not provide for caning as part of the penalty. This has been amended.)

Related stories:

Alleged StanChart bank robber David James Roach arrested in UK after release from Thai prison

2 S’poreans speculate why we aren’t getting the alleged Holland Village bank robber back from Thailand

People from StanChart robbery suspect’s hometown react to news of his arrest

StanChart robbery suspect allegedly had S$5 Baker & Cook strawberry cake after S$30,000 windfall

A complete timeline of the Standard Chartered robbery in 60 seconds

Top photo: file, via Bangkok immigration authorities