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Allegations 'entirely false'
ROMANIAN Charge d'Affaires Silviu Ionescu, who has been identified as the driver of the car involved in a hit-and-run accident that left one person dead and two others injured last December, has made very serious allegations against the integrity of the Singapore Government, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
An MFA spokesman on Thursday said that Dr Ionescu had in a recent interview with a television station back in Romania, alleged that the case against him was a 'set-up' by the Singapore Government because he had been reporting on political activities here.
'Dr Ionescu had alleged that there had been a similar case in 2007, when he was also accused of being the driver in a hit-and-run accident, but was eventually let off as he had an alibi at that time,] said the MFA spokesman.
MFA, which summoned Mr Aurelian Neagu, Romanian Ambassador to Singapore, to the ministry on Thursday, told the envoy that Dr Ionescu 'had made very serious allegations against the integrity of the Singapore Government which MFA categorically rejected as lacking any basis in fact.'
'These allegations were also a gross insult to the victims of the two accidents,' said the ministry's spokesman, who added that Dr Ionescu's claim that he had been accused of being the driver in a hit-and-run accident in 2007 is 'entirely false.'
The spokesman pointed out that records showed that the Romanian Embassy vehicle was involved in two traffic accidents in 2007. The first was a minor non-injury accident where the driver was not Dr Ionescu and the other driver did not wish to pursue the matter.
In the second case, it was established then that Dr Ionescu, who was the driver, was not at fault and action was taken against the other driver involved in the accident.
'These facts clearly show that Dr Ionescu's claims are fictitious and at no time was he ever accused by the Police of being the driver in a hit-and-run accident in 2007.'
MFA also asked Ambassador Neagu for more information on the status of the criminal proceedings in Romania against Dr Ionescu, and on the Romanian system of investigations and prosecutions.
'The next step will depend on the Romanian Government's response to our requests and the outcome of the Coroner's Inquiry,' said the spokesman.
SINGAPORE on Thursday summoned the Romanian ambassador to the Republic to demand a series of actions in the wake of a hit-and-run accident last December involving an embassy staffer.
Responding to media queries, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said MFA is seeking the return of Dr Silvio Ionescu for the coroner's inquiry on March 10 into the death of Mr Tong Kok Wai, one of the two victims of the Dec 15 accident. Dr Ionescu, who had earlier claimed the car involved in the accident was stolen, has been identified as a suspect in the case.
Romanian Ambassador Aurelian Neagu, who is based in Tokyo, was told by the Singapore MFA that the accident 'is of the highest concern to the Singapore Government. MFA also reiterated that it was most important that the Romanian Embassy cooperate fully with the Singapore authorities' on this.
MFA explained to Mr Neagu that the coroner's inquiry is not a trial, but a fact-finding inquiry to establish the facts where there has been an unnatural death. 'MFA handed Ambassador Neagu a diplomatic note seeking the Romanian Embassy's assistance in requesting Dr Ionescu to return to Singapore to attend the Coroner's Inquiry,' said the spokesman.
Referring to Romanian media reports that Dr Ionescu was still maintaining that the car had been stolen and that he was not the driver at the time of the two accidents, MFA pointed out that if Dr Ionescu was maintaining that he was not responsible, it was all the more reason why he should come back to Singapore to give his version at the Coroner's Inquiry. This will help the State Coroner to ascertain the facts relating to the two accidents.
MFA also pointed out to Mr Neagu that Dr Ionescu was welcome to engage a local lawyer to examine the witnesses and put forth his version of the events at the Inquiry. Alternatively, the Romanian Embassy could engage a local lawyer on Dr Ionescu's behalf.
Noting media reports of Dr Ionescu's claim in a recent Romanian television interview that there was a witness who could exonerate him, MFA asked the Romanian Embassy to request Dr Ionescu to give the Singapore authorities details concerning the identity of this witness. The witness can then be required to give evidence at the coroner's inquiry, said the MFA spokesman.
ROMANIAN Charge d'Affaires Silviu Ionescu, who has been identified as the driver of the car involved in a hit-and-run accident that left one person dead and two others injured last December, has made very serious allegations against the integrity of the Singapore Government, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
An MFA spokesman on Thursday said that Dr Ionescu had in a recent interview with a television station back in Romania, alleged that the case against him was a 'set-up' by the Singapore Government because he had been reporting on political activities here.
'Dr Ionescu had alleged that there had been a similar case in 2007, when he was also accused of being the driver in a hit-and-run accident, but was eventually let off as he had an alibi at that time,] said the MFA spokesman.
MFA, which summoned Mr Aurelian Neagu, Romanian Ambassador to Singapore, to the ministry on Thursday, told the envoy that Dr Ionescu 'had made very serious allegations against the integrity of the Singapore Government which MFA categorically rejected as lacking any basis in fact.'
'These allegations were also a gross insult to the victims of the two accidents,' said the ministry's spokesman, who added that Dr Ionescu's claim that he had been accused of being the driver in a hit-and-run accident in 2007 is 'entirely false.'
The spokesman pointed out that records showed that the Romanian Embassy vehicle was involved in two traffic accidents in 2007. The first was a minor non-injury accident where the driver was not Dr Ionescu and the other driver did not wish to pursue the matter.
In the second case, it was established then that Dr Ionescu, who was the driver, was not at fault and action was taken against the other driver involved in the accident.
'These facts clearly show that Dr Ionescu's claims are fictitious and at no time was he ever accused by the Police of being the driver in a hit-and-run accident in 2007.'
MFA also asked Ambassador Neagu for more information on the status of the criminal proceedings in Romania against Dr Ionescu, and on the Romanian system of investigations and prosecutions.
'The next step will depend on the Romanian Government's response to our requests and the outcome of the Coroner's Inquiry,' said the spokesman.
SINGAPORE on Thursday summoned the Romanian ambassador to the Republic to demand a series of actions in the wake of a hit-and-run accident last December involving an embassy staffer.
Responding to media queries, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said MFA is seeking the return of Dr Silvio Ionescu for the coroner's inquiry on March 10 into the death of Mr Tong Kok Wai, one of the two victims of the Dec 15 accident. Dr Ionescu, who had earlier claimed the car involved in the accident was stolen, has been identified as a suspect in the case.
Romanian Ambassador Aurelian Neagu, who is based in Tokyo, was told by the Singapore MFA that the accident 'is of the highest concern to the Singapore Government. MFA also reiterated that it was most important that the Romanian Embassy cooperate fully with the Singapore authorities' on this.
MFA explained to Mr Neagu that the coroner's inquiry is not a trial, but a fact-finding inquiry to establish the facts where there has been an unnatural death. 'MFA handed Ambassador Neagu a diplomatic note seeking the Romanian Embassy's assistance in requesting Dr Ionescu to return to Singapore to attend the Coroner's Inquiry,' said the spokesman.
Referring to Romanian media reports that Dr Ionescu was still maintaining that the car had been stolen and that he was not the driver at the time of the two accidents, MFA pointed out that if Dr Ionescu was maintaining that he was not responsible, it was all the more reason why he should come back to Singapore to give his version at the Coroner's Inquiry. This will help the State Coroner to ascertain the facts relating to the two accidents.
MFA also pointed out to Mr Neagu that Dr Ionescu was welcome to engage a local lawyer to examine the witnesses and put forth his version of the events at the Inquiry. Alternatively, the Romanian Embassy could engage a local lawyer on Dr Ionescu's behalf.
Noting media reports of Dr Ionescu's claim in a recent Romanian television interview that there was a witness who could exonerate him, MFA asked the Romanian Embassy to request Dr Ionescu to give the Singapore authorities details concerning the identity of this witness. The witness can then be required to give evidence at the coroner's inquiry, said the MFA spokesman.
