Court extends Ionescu's arrest warrant
[2010] 19 Aug_ST
Title: Court extends Ionescu's arrest warrant
Source: Straits Times
BUCHAREST: A Romanian court yesterday kept Silviu Ionescu under lock and key as he awaits trial in connection with a hit-and-run accident in Singapore last year.
The former diplomat's arrest warrant came up for review yesterday and a lower court extended it.
Ionescu's attorney has appealed against the decision. It is expected to be heard by the Bucharest Appeal Court next Monday or Tuesday.
Failing the appeal, another review of his arrest warrant would be heard in 60 days, but his trial is expected to be under way before then.
The case is scheduled for Oct 6.
Ionescu, 50, is alleged to have hit three pedestrians in a double hit-and-run accident in Bukit Panjang on Dec 15 last year, when he was charge d'affaires of the Romanian embassy in Singapore.
One of them, Mr Tong Kok Wai, 30, died of his injuries more than a week after the accident.
The charges against Ionescu include culpable homicide, causing personal injury, making false statements and leaving the scene of an accident.
The maximum penalty, if he is found guilty of the most serious charge, is seven years in prison.
Yesterday's action means Ionescu will remain at a former maximum-security penitentiary near Bucharest.
The unit is no longer a correctional facility and is used mostly to house prisoners under arrest.
MIHAI URSU
Source: Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Permission required for reproduction.