Michael McCrea, who lost a three-year battle against Australian authorities to avoid extradition on grounds that he could be executed, was charged with murdering his 46-year-old chauffeur Kho Nai Guan and the driver's girlfriend, 30-year-old Lan Ya Ming.

While a murder conviction normally carries the death penalty in Singapore, the government had given a written assurance that McCrea would not be hanged if found guilty, the Straits Times reported.

Australia, which does not have the death penalty, does not extradite suspects who could be executed.

A copy of the charge sheet obtained by AFP confirmed that McCrea was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224, which states that "whoever commits murder shall be punished with death."

But lawyer Michael Lim, who will be representing McCrea during the trial, 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," Lim told reporters.

The Federal Court in Melbourne last month dismissed McCrea's appeal against the government's decision to extradite him, saying it believed an undertaking by Singapore not to impose the death penalty would be honoured.

McCrea, 47, had fought extradition on the grounds that Singapore's undertaking was not legally enforceable.

Dressed in a dark suit and tie, McCrea appeared upbeat and jovial during his brief appearance in the Subordinate Courts before being led away by local authorities.

The former insurance salesman from Nottingham, England had fled with his Singaporean girlfriend to Australia via Britain on January 2, 2002, after allegedly strangling Kho and Lan in his apartment during a dispute.

He has been in custody in Melbourne since June 2002 after being arrested on a warrant issued by Interpol.

McCrea's girlfriend Audrey Ong consented to extradition and is now serving a 12-year sentence in Singapore after admitting in 2003 to helping dispose of the bodies.

The decomposing bodies were found in the car park five days later, with Kho, the chauffeur, stuffed into a wicker basket on the back seat of a car and his girlfriend Lan in the boot.

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