Beh Chew Boo, 38, was released after judges dismissed a bid by prosecutors to proceed with the trial of four other non-capital charges against him, the Straits Times (ST) reported.

Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and Justice Steven Chong decided that the prosecution was not permitted to reinstate the charges and ordered for Beh to be released.

Beh, who was sentenced to death in January last year, was acquitted by the Court of Appeal on Oct 13 after the prosecution was unable to prove the charge of importation against him.

He was arrested on Oct 26, 2016 for allegedly attempting to smuggle in 499.97g of methamphetamine from Malaysia at the Woodlands Checkpoint.

Beh was subsequently slapped with five charges of importing different types of drugs into Singapore, but in July 2019 he was tried on the sole capital charge for importing methamphetamine.

According to ST, after he was convicted and handed the death sentence, the prosecution withdrew the other four charges.

But despite his acquittal for importing methamphetamine, Beh continued to be held in custody pending a decision on the four charges related to 1,650 tablets found inside a plastic bag in his possession.

When met outside the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority building today, Beh described his release as a “miracle”.

“I feel grateful to the court and my lawyers. I’m innocent,” he told ST.

On whether he intended to seek compensation, Beh said he would “leave it to my lawyers”.