SINGAPORE, July 13  — The suspect in last Thursday’s Standard Chartered bank robbery could be extradited here if Singapore presses charges against him via the Thai Attorney General within a week, Deputy Commander of the Thai Tourist Police Colonel Nithithorn Chintakanon said today.

The suspect, identified in Thai media as Canadian David James Roach, 26, is expected to be in Bangkok for about a week, while documents are being processed.

Pol Col Nithithorn said Roach had on him US and Singapore dollars, as well as Thai baht worth a total of 700,000 baht (RM79,238) when he was found.

He also had a notebook and laptop.

The notebook contained the text he had allegedly written and presented to the Standard Chartered teller, Nithithorn told reporters in a briefing.

During the robbery last Thursday, a man had gone into the Standard Chartered bank branch and handed a female teller a note.

After she handed over some S$30,000 (RM88,652) in cash, he fled on foot in the direction of Chip Bee Gardens.

It later emerged that the man had left for Thailand after the robbery.

Today, Nithithorn outlined how Thai police found Roach: They traced him through CCTV footage and the taxi driver who drove him from the airport. Roach had walked around Central World and Petchburi Soi 15, 17 and 19, and the Thai police searched the 35 hotels and hostels in the area.

On Sunday, he was nabbed at the Boxpackers Hostel in Bangkok by the Royal Thai Police.

Some 20 to 30 police officers were present when Roach was caught in the hostel, where he was staying on the fifth floor.

It is possible Roach might be sent back to Canada, but Nithithorn said he hopes Roach could be extradited to Singapore.

Roach is now in an immigration detention centre after his right to stay in Thailand was revoked due to the warrant from Singapore.

Thai police chief Jaktip Chaijinda, who visited Roach today, told reporters that Roach wanted a lawyer and is refusing to talk.

Singapore and Thailand do not have an extradition treaty but Singapore police have previously said both countries have strong bilateral ties and are in talks to see whether the suspect can be released into Singapore’s custody.

Last Thursday’s robbery at Holland Village was the first successful heist here in more than a decade. — TODAY