<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"></TD><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>Fkapore <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>3:36 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>26885.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Romanian court: Investigation of Dr Silviu Ionescu will take “several years”
January 9, 2010 by admin
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Written by Our Correspondent
The investigation of the double hit-and-run accident by a vehicle belonging to the Romanian embassy in Singapore by Romanian authorities which has already claimed the life of an innocent young man Mr Tong Kok Wai is likely to take “several years”.
Romanian online news daily Click! quoted a statement from the Romania Jurse Court:
“In all these cases involving letters of requests between two countries, the completion of the investigation will likely take several months, if not years.”
Romanian diplomat Dr Silviu Ionescu has emerged as the prime suspect in the accident with many eye-witnesses coming forward to describe the features of the driver.
He repeatedly denied that he was involved in the accident. Speaking to Cli
ck!, he said:
“The press is free to report on anything it wants. I do not have any comment and it is not important anyway. All that matters is to establish the truth. The fact remains that the embassy car was stolen and I was not in it at the time of the accident.”
On the decision of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the accident in Singapore, Dr Silviu said it is a normal procedure in such cases.
“We are all ready to support the investigations carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office,” he added.
Dr Silviu has since been recalled from his diplomatic position in Singapore by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to aid in the investigations. He now says he would “assist” in the accident investigations from Romania.
Yesterday, Dr Silviu was whisked to a “secret” location outside Romania’s capital Bucharest by agents from the Foreign Intelligence Service or Serviciul de Informatii Externe (SIE) for questioning. It is not known if he has returned home yet.
With the case entirely in the hands of the Romanian prosecutors, it seems that Singapore no longer has the power or right to prosecute and punish the culprit though the crime was committed in Singapore.
Nearly a month after the fatal accident, Singapore police is still “investigating” the matter and the identity of the driver remains a mystery.
There are no official statements from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
either other than a laughable remark by Foreign Minister George Yeo describing the accident as “very bad”.
The prosecutors in the Prosecutor-General Office in Romania has set up a commission rogatory to initiate investigations.
This means that the statements of witnesses can be taken in Singapore and filed in Romania without them going all the way to Romania more than 10,000 kilometers away in the other half of the globe.
It is also possible for Romanian officials to travel to Singapore to assist in the ongoing “investigations” by the unusually “efficient” Singapore police force which had strangely allowed Dr Silviu to leave the country three days after the accident without impounding his passport or informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apply for a waiver of the suspect’s diplomatic immunity.
(If Dr Silviu has criticized the ruling party or judged to have “interfered” in Singapore politics, his diplomatic immunity will probably be waived immediately and he will be booted out of the country in double-quick time.)
Due to the complexities and intricacies involved in going through the various diplomatic and official channels to conduct a proper investigation into the case, it is likely to take a long time to complete by the time which the culprit may already have died from natural causes.
(Dr Silviu appears to be obese and being diabetic, there is a good chance he may suffer a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years)
For example, the Romanian prosecutors will have to submit an official request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore police and other agencies to even come to Singapore to investigate the case.
A lot of time will be wasted just on waiting for official replies from one party to another and going through all the bureaucratic red-tape while the Romania and Singapore governments play “Tai-Chi” together.
Though Romania is a member of the European Union, there is no extradition
treaty between Singapore and Romania which means that there is no way for Singapore to bring Dr Silviu Ionescu back here to be tried even if it wants to prosecute him.
Given the rife corruption and messy politics in Romania, it is not impossible that the perpetrator of this hideous crime be let off the hook with a couple of thousands of euros.
Furthermore it is strange that nobody from Singapore or Romania has come forward to reveal the identity of the culprit after so long when the evidence has been pretty obvious from the testimonies given by eye-witnesses.
For the family of the deceased Mr Tong Kok Kai who have been hoping for a swift justice, they are likely to be disappointed.
The case will drag on and on for years till it fade away completely from the collective consciousness of the public which will help negate the fallout for both the Romania and Singapore governments for their ineptitude to punish the culprit and deliver swift justice to the families of the victims.
EDITORS’ NOTE:
It now appears increasingly likely that the case will not be solved soon and the culprit may not have to pay a price for his crime in his lifetime. Mr Tong’s family may like to seek legal advice to sue the Romania government in a EU court rather than to wait for several years to seek redress from Romania’s justice system which is a suspect given the prevailing circumstances in the country. Readers who are familiar with the EU Commission, please offer your frank views here.
Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review
(If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours)
<HR SIZE=1>Edited 1/9/2010 6:37 pm ET by Fkapore</TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgVFM colSpan=2 align=middle>View Full Message</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
January 9, 2010 by admin
Filed under Headlines
Leave a comment from Temasek Review
Written by Our Correspondent
Romanian online news daily Click! quoted a statement from the Romania Jurse Court:
“In all these cases involving letters of requests between two countries, the completion of the investigation will likely take several months, if not years.”
Romanian diplomat Dr Silviu Ionescu has emerged as the prime suspect in the accident with many eye-witnesses coming forward to describe the features of the driver.
He repeatedly denied that he was involved in the accident. Speaking to Cli
“The press is free to report on anything it wants. I do not have any comment and it is not important anyway. All that matters is to establish the truth. The fact remains that the embassy car was stolen and I was not in it at the time of the accident.”
On the decision of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office to investigate the accident in Singapore, Dr Silviu said it is a normal procedure in such cases.
“We are all ready to support the investigations carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office,” he added.
Dr Silviu has since been recalled from his diplomatic position in Singapore by the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to aid in the investigations. He now says he would “assist” in the accident investigations from Romania.
With the case entirely in the hands of the Romanian prosecutors, it seems that Singapore no longer has the power or right to prosecute and punish the culprit though the crime was committed in Singapore.
Nearly a month after the fatal accident, Singapore police is still “investigating” the matter and the identity of the driver remains a mystery.
There are no official statements from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The prosecutors in the Prosecutor-General Office in Romania has set up a commission rogatory to initiate investigations.
This means that the statements of witnesses can be taken in Singapore and filed in Romania without them going all the way to Romania more than 10,000 kilometers away in the other half of the globe.
It is also possible for Romanian officials to travel to Singapore to assist in the ongoing “investigations” by the unusually “efficient” Singapore police force which had strangely allowed Dr Silviu to leave the country three days after the accident without impounding his passport or informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to apply for a waiver of the suspect’s diplomatic immunity.
Due to the complexities and intricacies involved in going through the various diplomatic and official channels to conduct a proper investigation into the case, it is likely to take a long time to complete by the time which the culprit may already have died from natural causes.
(Dr Silviu appears to be obese and being diabetic, there is a good chance he may suffer a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years)
For example, the Romanian prosecutors will have to submit an official request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore police and other agencies to even come to Singapore to investigate the case.
A lot of time will be wasted just on waiting for official replies from one party to another and going through all the bureaucratic red-tape while the Romania and Singapore governments play “Tai-Chi” together.
Though Romania is a member of the European Union, there is no extradition
Given the rife corruption and messy politics in Romania, it is not impossible that the perpetrator of this hideous crime be let off the hook with a couple of thousands of euros.
Furthermore it is strange that nobody from Singapore or Romania has come forward to reveal the identity of the culprit after so long when the evidence has been pretty obvious from the testimonies given by eye-witnesses.
The case will drag on and on for years till it fade away completely from the collective consciousness of the public which will help negate the fallout for both the Romania and Singapore governments for their ineptitude to punish the culprit and deliver swift justice to the families of the victims.
EDITORS’ NOTE:
It now appears increasingly likely that the case will not be solved soon and the culprit may not have to pay a price for his crime in his lifetime. Mr Tong’s family may like to seek legal advice to sue the Romania government in a EU court rather than to wait for several years to seek redress from Romania’s justice system which is a suspect given the prevailing circumstances in the country. Readers who are familiar with the EU Commission, please offer your frank views here.
Copyright © 2009 – 2010 The Temasek Review
(If you are going to reproduce this article on your blog or forum, please provide a link back to ours)
<HR SIZE=1>Edited 1/9/2010 6:37 pm ET by Fkapore</TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgVFM colSpan=2 align=middle>View Full Message</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
