Romanian hit-and-run inquest March

[Orochi]

Re: Ex-Romanian diplomat Ionescu asks to be released on judicial supervision


S'pore envoy to Romania to attend Ionescu's trial

AsiaOne
Tuesday, Jun 05, 2012

Singapore's Special Envoy to Romania, Ambassador Ong Eng Chuan, will attend the next hearing in the trial of Dr Silviu Ionescu, the former Romanian Charge d'Affaires in Singapore, tomorrow, June 6.

Ambassador Ong will be accompanied by a representative from the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore.

The former Romanian charge d'affaires to Singapore was involved in two hit-and-run accidents which killed one man and injured two others.

 

[Orochi]

Re: Ionescu drops lawyer suddenly


Bucharest court sees final pieces of video evidence for Ionescu case
By Claudia Craiu | Posted: 06 June 2012 1937 hrs

Silviu Ionescu (in red scarf) and his lawyer

BUCHAREST: The trial of former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu continued on Wednesday in Bucharest.

Ionescu is on trial for two hit-and-run accidents in Singapore that killed one and injured two others on December 15, 2009.

Citing a medical condition and work pressure, Ionescu had earlier said in February 2012 that he had planned to leave Singapore long before 2009 and had wanted a transfer to Spain as vice-consul, a position five ranks lower than the one he held in Singapore.

But in court on Wednesday, the former Romanian Ambassador to Spain, Maria Gligor, testified that she did not recall Ionescu's request to leave Singapore.

"I do not recall having such a conversation with Silviu Ionescu," she said.

"We had an unofficial discussion at an ambassadors' reunion, but I do not recall the topic."

The court also saw final pieces of the prosecution's video evidence from the day of the accident.

Taken from a parking lot and the interiors of several buildings, the footage showed Ionescu walking hand in hand with Korean opera singer Jeong Ae Ree.

The court, however, rejected video material from Romanian tabloid network OTV, saying it was not relevant to the trial.

Also rejected was the request to hear OTV owner and presenter, Dan Diaconescu, from the defence side.

A second witness, Ovidiu Hada, Mayor of Hunedoara, a city in Transylvannia, did not turn up for the hearing.

The judge has issued a warrant for the police to bring the Mayor to court.

The trial resumes on September 19.

- CNA/fa

 

[Orochi]

Re: Wait-and-see for Ionescu in appeal for release under judicial supervision


S'pore's special envoy to Romania will attend Ionescu's trial

AsiaOne
Tuesday, Sep 18, 2012

Singapore's Special Envoy to Romania, Ambassador Ong Eng Chuan, will attend the next hearing in the trial of Dr Silviu Ionescu, the former Romanian Charge d'Affaires in Singapore, on 19 Sept 2012.

Ambassador Ong will be accompanied by a representative from the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore.

 

[Orochi]

Ionescu trial further adjourned to Dec 3
By Claudia Craiu | Posted: 19 September 2012 2024 hrs

Silviu Ionescu (file photo)

SINGAPORE: The long-running trial of former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu has been further adjourned to December 3.

Ionescu is on trial for two hit-and-run accidents in Singapore in 2009 - which left one person dead and two others injured.

At Wednesday's hearing in Romania, the court heard from defence witness Ovidiu Hada, the former mayor of Hunedoara, a town in Western Romania.

The judge handling the Ionescu trial intends to move the hearing into its final stage, before ruling a sentence.

Ionescu had planned to use Mr Hada's evidence to prove he was under a constant state of pressure while in Singapore and that he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

But on the contrary, Mr Hada testified that Ionescu had never complained about his duties or any alleged hostile environment.

Mr Hada said he and Ionescu met in September 2009 while attending two meetings with representatives of the Singaporean Chamber of Commerce, organised by the Romanian Embassy.

"He never complained to me about his duties or about any alleged hostile environment. Our discussions only addressed issues related to my visit to Singapore, which was strictly for business," recalled Mr Hada in court.

The court was also scheduled to examine more evidence from Singapore, but the judge was told this was not yet available and no reason was given.

Singapore's Special Envoy to Romania, Ong Eng Chuan, was present at Wednesday's proceedings. He reiterated Singapore government's expectations that justice shall be served.

- CNA/cc

 

[lianbeng]

lianbeng wonders why keep on postponing? just kill him for killing people lah!

 

[Orochi]

Former Romanian diplomat raises three issues in court

By Channel NewsAsia's Claudia Craiu | Posted: 03 December 2012 2056 hrs

Silviu Ionescu (file photo)

BUCHAREST: The trial of former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu continued on Monday in Bucharest.

Singaporean special envoy to Brussels Ong Eng Chuan was present and he expressed confidence that justice will be served although three years have passed since the tragedy, and this might fuel certain fears that the case is falling into oblivion.

Ionescu was represented by a new legal counsellor Flavia Furtuna, as both his other attorneys were involved in the Romanian electoral process.

His new attorney has asked for a continuance, so as to be able to study the case file.

Ionescu is on trial for two hit-and-run accidents in Singapore that killed one person and injured two others in 2009. He left the country soon after the incident.

Ionescu raised three new issues in court.

The first was a request for the global positioning system (GPS) of the embassy's car to be sent to Romania.

"The results of the GPS analysis conducted in Singapore is inconclusive, because this GPS was not an included feature of the car, but a later add-on, which not even the embassy driver knew how to operate fully," claimed Ionescu.

The judge postponed making a decision on this matter, pending a report from the Singaporean authorities in charge with examining the SatNav equipment in question.

Ionescu's second request was to ask a gentleman, whom a Romanian tabloid mistakenly took to be Ionescu, to be a witness. This request was dismissed by the judge.

About a year ago, a Romanian tabloid published a story about Ionescu, but mistakenly illustrated it with a photo of another gentleman.

This particular person was the witness Ionescu intended to call to testify, in order to prove that it would have been easy for the Singaporean witnesses to mistake Ionescu for the alleged driver involved in the accident.

Ionescu's claim is that if the Romanian media could make such a mistake, so could the witnesses of the car accident.

He also requested that the Singaporean police officers who examined the car testify before the Romanian court.

The judge postponed making a decision on this request as the court wants to verify the presence of the alleged statements supposedly made by the investigating police officers.

According to Ionescu, the report filed by those officers mentions the presence of unidentified fingerprints on the car's driving wheel and dashboard.

Ionescu wants the officers to explain how were those alleged fingerprints further investigated.

- CNA/de

 

[Orochi]

Re: Victim to testify


Singapore's envoy to Romania to attend Ionescu hearing
Posted: 12 February 2013 1911 hrs

Silviu Ionescu (file photo)

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Special Envoy to Romania, Ambassador Ong Eng Chuan, will attend the next hearing in the trial of Dr Silviu Ionescu, the former Romanian Charge d'Affaires.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said Ambassador Ong will be accompanied by a representative from the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday in Bucharest.

51-year-old Ionescu, is on trial for two hit-and-run accidents in Singapore in 2009. The accidents left one person dead and two others injured.

-CNA/ac

 

[sense]

Former Romanian diplomat raises three issues in court

By Channel NewsAsia's Claudia Craiu | Posted: 03 December 2012 2056 hrs
:
:
Ionescu's second request was to ask a gentleman, whom a Romanian tabloid mistakenly took to be Ionescu, to be a witness. This request was dismissed by the judge.

About a year ago, a Romanian tabloid published a story about Ionescu, but mistakenly illustrated it with a photo of another gentleman.

This particular person was the witness Ionescu intended to call to testify, in order to prove that it would have been easy for the Singaporean witnesses to mistake Ionescu for the alleged driver involved in the accident.

Ionescu's claim is that if the Romanian media could make such a mistake, so could the witnesses of the car accident.
:
:
:

Warped logic.

 

[lianbeng]

"Ionescu's claim is that if the Romanian media could make such a mistake, so could the witnesses of the car accident."

lianbeng agrees he got a point. still postponing? gone case liao lah!

 

[cass888]

Singapore cases also can postpone for up to 2 years even after expediting.

"Ionescu's claim is that if the Romanian media could make such a mistake, so could the witnesses of the car accident."

lianbeng agrees he got a point. still postponing? gone case liao lah!

 

[Orochi]

Lawyers present closing arguments in Ionescu trial
By Claudia Craiu | Posted: 13 March 2013 2350 hrs

Silviu Ionescu (file photo)

SINGAPORE: Lawyers in the trial of former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu presented their closing arguments on Wednesday.

The trial, held in Bucharest, has been on-going for more than three years.

Ionescu, the former Romanian Charge d'Affaires in Singapore, is on trial for two hit-and-run accidents in Singapore in 2009 that left one dead and two others injured.

Prosecutors gave a full account of what allegedly happened the night of December 14, 2009.

Ionescu told police the car was stolen after the hit-and-run took place in the Bukit Panjang area, but they pointed out contradictory statements he had given to the police as well as during an inquest.

For example, Ionescu claimed that he had gone to the embassy late at night and found the embassy car had been stolen.

However, the prosecution pointed out that the car bore no signs of a break-in, and they thought it odd that Ionescu telephoned embassy employees, and then his wife, to ask for the Singaporean emergency number, when it would have made sense to just wake them up.

Embassy staff also did not hear Ionescu enter in the middle of the night, as he claimed to have done.

His leaving Singapore bore the signs of a hasty dash-off, claimed the prosecutor, as the plane ticket was bought just before the flight.

A witness also recognised Ionescu from the scene of the accident after seeing his picture in a newspaper.

The prosecution also asked that one of the defence's witnesses be charged with perjury.

Ionescu currently faces charges relating to manslaughter, leaving the place of an accident, and making false statements. His lawyers have asked for the charges to be dropped -- citing a lack of solid evidence, that includes CCTV footage, pinning Ionescu to the case.

Defence attorney Nelu Tasca asked for all evidence against Ionescu to be dismissed, saying that it could not be determined whether Ionescu was at the wheel or if the traffic lights were working properly.

Cristian Ene, the second defence lawyer, pointed to the lack of CCTV footage of the accident, saying there was no footage of the car from the place of the accident to where it was found abandoned. The footage was requested by the court during the proceedings.

Mr Ene said that there must be direct evidence that can leave no doubt on the matter -- where in this case, there is none.

The lawyers then went on to say that circumstantial evidence against Ionescu was ambiguous, as the witnesses had also provided contradictory statements -- from whether the traffic light had turned green, indicating that it was safe to cross, to what the driver was wearing.

As for the prosecution's claim that Ionescu made contradictory statements, Mr Tasca said that they are normal for someone who is faced with an unexpected situation.

Ionescu also took the stand. He said: "I did not drink because I was driving. I did not wake the staff, because they may have panicked. Why did I use the landline to call? My battery was almost out on the mobile. The area of the accident is as remote as the place where the car was found."

The judge is expected to make a decision in the next few days.

-CNA/ac

 

[Orochi]

Re: Former diplomat Silviu Ionescu remains behind bars

 

[Orochi]

Re: Former diplomat Silviu Ionescu to remain in prison


Romanian court to hand sentence in Singapore hit-and-run case

Published on Mar 19, 2013

The former business attache of Romania to Singapore, Silviu Ionescu (above), walks out of court in handcuffs after a hearing in Bucharest on July 27, 2010. A Romanian court said on Tuesday, March 19, 2013, that it will issue next week its sentence in a 2009 deadly hit-and-run accident caused by Ionescu. -- FILE PHOTO: LIBERTATEA

BUCHAREST (AFP) - A Romanian court said on Tuesday that it will issue next week its sentence in a 2009 deadly hit-and-run accident caused by a former Romanian diplomat.

"The judge should announce the sentence on March 27," Viorela Ferencz, spokeswoman for the Bucharest court, told AFP.

She added, however, that the decision could be delayed if the judge requests more time to study the case.

Silviu Ionescu, who was Romania's charge d'affaires in Singapore, allegedly hit three pedestrians there while driving a car belonging to the Romanian mission on the night of December 15, 2009.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

 

[Gestapo]

Re: Former Romanian diplomat Ionescu released from detention in Bucharest

As expected, Singapore Police are balless and useless... drag and drag.... fours years liao....

 

[cass888]

Re: Former diplomat Silviu Ionescu remains behind bars

Will be ironic if he gets more than 6 months jail. In Singapore, he would have been fined $10k or jailed 4-6 months.

 

[peppertail]

Re: Former diplomat Silviu Ionescu remains behind bars

Will be ironic if he gets more than 6 months jail. In Singapore, he would have been fined $10k or jailed 4-6 months.

Weren't there a few cases where drivers got 4-6 weeks only for killing pedestrians or cyclists?

 

[Gestapo]

Re: Former Romanian diplomat Ionescu released from detention in Bucharest

As expected, Singapore Police are balless and useless... drag and drag.... fours years liao....

...........................................

 

[cass888]

Weren't there a few cases where drivers got 4-6 weeks only for killing pedestrians or cyclists?

This guy was drunk so probably higher. Not drunk usually only fine 10k or less and gantung 10 years.

 

[Danube]

As expected, Singapore Police are balless and useless... drag and drag.... fours years liao....

 

[Orochi]

Re: Romanian envoy met MFA


Ex-Romanian diplomat Ionescu sentenced to 3 years' jail in hit-and-run case
By Claudia Craiu | Posted: 27 March 2013 1847 hrs

BUCHAREST: Former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu has been found guilty in a hit-and-run accident in Singapore and sentenced to three years' jail by a Romanian court.

In its verdict, Ionescu was cleared of the charge of making false statements, but was found guilty on three other counts - manslaughter, causing injury and fleeing the scene.

He received a term of three years for manslaughter, eight months for causing injury and another three years for fleeing the scene. The sentences are to run concurrently.

His jail term will also take into account the six months he had spent in preventive custody.

Ionescu will also have to pay 38,000 Romanian lei (or about S$13,700) as judicial expenses.

Several of his civil rights will also be suspended for the duration of his sentence.

Ionescu was not present in court when the verdict was delivered. His lawyer told AFP he will appeal.

The court denied the request by a witness to be reimbursed wages for the time spent giving testimony via video link.

The victims' families will also receive no compensation, as they have not filed any requests in this respect.

Ionescu, who was Romania's charge d'affaires in Singapore, was found guilty of hitting three pedestrians in December 2009 while driving a car belonging to the Romanian mission.

One of the pedestrians, a 30-year-old Malaysian, died.

Ionescu, who fled Singapore shortly after the accident, has claimed the Romanian mission's car was stolen. He has been on trial since October 2010.

- CNA/AFP/de