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Fri, Jul 02, 2010 AFP
Romanian diplomat to be tried over Singapore road death in Romania
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BUCHAREST (AFP) - A Romanian diplomat will be tried in his native country over a hit-and-run crash in Singapore in December that killed a Malaysian national, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Silviu Ionescu, a former charge d'affaires in Singapore, has been indicted for homicide, causing physical injuries and false statements, a press release from the general prosecutor's office said.
The date of his trial has not been set yet and he will remain in custody until then, the statement said. He was arrested by Romanian authorities in May.
Ionescu is alleged to have hit three pedestrians in two incidents in December while driving a car belonging to the Romanian mission.
One of the victims, a 30-year-old Malaysian national, suffered brain damage and died on Christmas Day, while the two others, aged 24 and 18, suffered injuries.
The diplomat, who flew back to Romania days after the accident, "did not stop to let pedestrians cross like they were allowed to do by a green light", prosecutors said.
"He left the scene of the first crash and drove on to the following crossroad where he again did not stop by a pedestrian crossing and caused another accident", they added.
The diplomat, who flew back to Romania days after the accident, "did not stop to let pedestrians cross like they were allowed to do by a green light", prosecutors said.
"He left the scene of the first crash and drove on to the following crossroad where he again did not stop by a pedestrian crossing and caused another accident", they added.
Ionescu has publicly denied he was the driver, claiming the car was stolen. According to prosecutors, the claim "does not conform to reality."
Singapore's foreign ministry has repeatedly called on the Romanian government to "ensure that justice is served and seen to be served" in Ionescu's case.
Singapore's foreign ministry has repeatedly called on the Romanian government to "ensure that justice is served and seen to be served" in Ionescu's case.
What others are saying:
Many who left comments on online forums are prepared to be patient just to wait and see
if this is all just typical Romanian " wayang " ( make belief drama ).
Some predicted that the Romanian authorities will definitely have a court hearing of sorts.
Then due to some concocted "technical" legal mambo-jambo the court has no jurisdiction to hear
such a "complicated" case that may require the presence of ALL the relevant witnesses [ from Singapore obviously ] etc..etc..
Another posted view is that they will transfer and keep transferring this case from one court to
another simply to make everyone exhausted.
Well as I've said...these are some of the views I've come across on the net. There are more extreme views.
My personal view
is that our S'pore legal experts are well versed in international law and should
be able to deal with " monkey" business of any kind. For this we have much to thank our M'sian
friends led by the one mad doctor for providing our side with much practice. They kept shifting the goalposts in critical negotiations and tried to change the rules of the game too. In football parlance...they make the rules, appoint themselves as Referee, award penalty kicks against us and when even after all that...they lose the game...will declare the match NULL and VOID !
That was why for the Pedra Branca case, the mad doctor and his merry men became madder!
The International Court ruled mostly in Singapore's favour and there is no APPEAL for such rulings.
The question it seems to me is not about Singapore per se but rather about ROMANIA's deplorable reputation to rule of law, justice and fairplay.
It would be utterly stupidity personified if Romania choose to save or protect this criminal at the expense of their already tarnished reputation and credibility.
Let's wait and see. Silviu can run but he cannot hide forever.
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