GERMAN WOMAN ESCAPES HANGING IN SINGAPORE DRUG CASE

SINGAPORE, March 28 (AFP) -- A German woman escaped being hanged and
obtained bail here Thursday after a stash of drugs found in her flat fell
below the minimum amount required for capital punishment, her lawyer said.

But Julia Suzanne Bohl, 23, could face a long prison sentence after being
slapped with a total of 14 drug-related charges including trafficking and
consumption of banned substances.

"We got the scientific report that has just been served on us that shows
that the amount is less than 500 (grams) of cannabis," her lawyer Subhas
Anandan told reporters at a trial court.

"So the charge of capital offence must go," he said. "My client Julia, I
think, is not facing the death sentence any more."

Bohl,who has been living for five years in Singapore, now faces three
trafficking charges which carry a minimum of five years imprisonment each
if found guilty, her lawyer Anandan said.

She faces 11 other drug-related charges including possession and
consumption, and allowing her apartment to be used for consuming drugs.

Bohl and three Singaporeans were arrested on March 13 for possession of 687
grams (24 ounces) of marijuana (cannabis) after a raid on the flat by
narcotics officers. An assortment of other drugs was also seized.

Under a "presumption clause" in Singapore's Misuse of Drugs Act, anyone
convicted of possessing a certain amount of a specified drug -- 500 grams
in the case of cannabis -- can be sentenced to death for trafficking.

The capital punishment in Singapore is hanging.

Anandan said Bohl will plead not guilty to the charge of drug trafficking
and claim trial.

He said prosecutors would not necessarily proceed with all 14 charges
against his client.

"You know the Singapore drug laws are tough but she will get a fair trial,"
he added.

During the court hearing, Judge Victor Yeo said Bohl could be released on
bail of 150,000 Singapore dollars (81,967 US) but her passport will be
impounded. He rejected a plea from Anandan that the bail be reduced to
100,000 dollars.

"I will advise them (Bohl's parents) to wait until the pre-trial conference
(before posting bail)... we will know which direction we are taking,"
Anandan said after the trial was over.

The pre-trial conference is scheduled for April 11.

Bohl's separated parents, Wolfgang and Suzanne, who were both present at
the hearing, said they were relieved their daughter no longer faced capital
punishment, but declined to make further comment.

"We are very relieved and we thank all the people that have been hoping
with us and still hope with us. That's all we can say at the moment," her
father said.

German ambassador Volker Schlegel, who accompanied the parents, pleaded for
privacy to be accorded to Bohl and her family at a difficult time. He also
declined to comment on the case.

"Ladies and gentlemen, could I please ask your understanding here and today
as head of the German embassy in Singapore I will refrain from any comment
on this running procedure. This is in the interest of my fellow
countrywoman," he said.

There was no immediate comment from prosecutors.

Possession and consumption of cannabis is punishable by 10 years in jail
and a fine of 20,000 Singapore dollars (11,000 US). Bohl has also been
charged with consumption of another banned substance, Ketamine, which
carries a similar sentence.

Bohl could have become the second European to be hanged in Singapore for
drug offences since a Dutch engineer, Johannes van Damme, was executed in 1994.

Bohl appeared in court wearing a pink sleeveless shirt, her hair tied in a
ponytail.

Singapore, a wealthy island-state steeped in discipline and hard work, has
tough laws against drug trafficking. It has never backed down from carrying
out tough punishments like hanging and caning, despite occasional
diplomatic skirmishes with the convicts' home countries.