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Dr Silviu Ionescu scoffed at guilty verdict: ‘This is bulls***’
April 1, 2010 by admin
Former Romanian diplomat to Singapore Dr Silviu Ionescu has scoffed at the evidence provided by 54 witnesses at a Coroners’ Court hearing yesterday fingering him of being the driver behind the wheels of a black Audi A6 which maimed three innocent passer-bys and robbed the life of a young man, 31 year old Malaysian Tong Kok Wai.
Though it was pretty obvious that he is the prime suspect in the case, the Singapore authorities allowed Dr Silviu Ionescu to leave for Romania three days after the accident when they could have applied to the Romanian embassy for a waival of his diplomatic immunity and detained him for further investigations.
When contacted by the Straits Times yesterday, Dr Silviu Ionescu said he was not surprised by the verdict and continued to proclaim his innocence, counter-accusing the witnesses of “lying” and painting “implausible” scenerios in court.
He sounded agitated and exclaimed ‘This is bulls***.’ at one point during the interview.
The Romanian government has requested evidence presented during the Singapore Coroner’s inqury to assist in its investigations on the case.
Dr Silviu Ionescu appeared unperturbed and expressed “confidence” in the Romanian judicial system:
“Romania is part of the European Union, we respect the rights of people. It will properly analyse the evidence. I trust in our law and justice. The democratic people will understand, they will judge. That’s why I have no worries,” he was quoted as saying in Straits Times.
[Source: Straits Times, 1 April 2010]
A series of reports released by the European Commission in 2008 sharply criticize the EU’s newest members, Bulgaria and Romania, for high levels of corruption. The gist of the European Commission’s message to Bulgaria and Romania is that there is no properly functioning rule of law in either country.
A spokesman of the European Commission, Laitenberger had this to say about Romania:
“The fundamental elements of a functioning system are in place, but the foundation is still fragile and decisions on high-level corruption are still too politicized. Commitment to reform by Romania’s key institutions and bodies is still uneven. While progress on judicial reform has been made, there is a need for the system to show there are penalties for high-level corruption.”
In a sign that it may be difficult to get Dr Silviu prosecuted in Romania, its ambassador to Singapore Mr Aurelian Neagu said it is unlikely that diplomatic immunity for Dr Silviu be waived and that it is too “early” to tell if he will eventually be charged in Romania.
“I don’t think you can. There’s no extradition treaty between Romania and Singapore. Even if you start legal proceedings in Singapore against him, you will have huge difficulties bringing him here,” he told the Straits Times.
One European ambassador described Dr Silviu as a “very strange individual”. Though he is married, he often attended official functions with younger women by his side.
There were no immediate comments from Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo who had received much flak from the public over his callous attitude to the accident.
Three weeks after the accident, Mr Yeo was reported in the media as saying:
“What happened was very bad. A man was killed. People were injured. The police are pursuing the matter very thoroughly but investigations are still ongoing and I shall not be commenting on them.”
[Source: Straits Times, 4 January 2010]
The accident is a PR disaster for the Singapore authorities who appeared to be completely “caught offguard” by it, sparking questions about its efficiency and impartiality.
All are supposed to be equal under the law, but in Singapore ruled by a pro-foreigner ruling party, it appears that some are more equal than others.
April 1, 2010 by admin
Former Romanian diplomat to Singapore Dr Silviu Ionescu has scoffed at the evidence provided by 54 witnesses at a Coroners’ Court hearing yesterday fingering him of being the driver behind the wheels of a black Audi A6 which maimed three innocent passer-bys and robbed the life of a young man, 31 year old Malaysian Tong Kok Wai.
Though it was pretty obvious that he is the prime suspect in the case, the Singapore authorities allowed Dr Silviu Ionescu to leave for Romania three days after the accident when they could have applied to the Romanian embassy for a waival of his diplomatic immunity and detained him for further investigations.
When contacted by the Straits Times yesterday, Dr Silviu Ionescu said he was not surprised by the verdict and continued to proclaim his innocence, counter-accusing the witnesses of “lying” and painting “implausible” scenerios in court.
He sounded agitated and exclaimed ‘This is bulls***.’ at one point during the interview.
The Romanian government has requested evidence presented during the Singapore Coroner’s inqury to assist in its investigations on the case.
Dr Silviu Ionescu appeared unperturbed and expressed “confidence” in the Romanian judicial system:
“Romania is part of the European Union, we respect the rights of people. It will properly analyse the evidence. I trust in our law and justice. The democratic people will understand, they will judge. That’s why I have no worries,” he was quoted as saying in Straits Times.
[Source: Straits Times, 1 April 2010]
A series of reports released by the European Commission in 2008 sharply criticize the EU’s newest members, Bulgaria and Romania, for high levels of corruption. The gist of the European Commission’s message to Bulgaria and Romania is that there is no properly functioning rule of law in either country.
A spokesman of the European Commission, Laitenberger had this to say about Romania:
“The fundamental elements of a functioning system are in place, but the foundation is still fragile and decisions on high-level corruption are still too politicized. Commitment to reform by Romania’s key institutions and bodies is still uneven. While progress on judicial reform has been made, there is a need for the system to show there are penalties for high-level corruption.”
In a sign that it may be difficult to get Dr Silviu prosecuted in Romania, its ambassador to Singapore Mr Aurelian Neagu said it is unlikely that diplomatic immunity for Dr Silviu be waived and that it is too “early” to tell if he will eventually be charged in Romania.
“I don’t think you can. There’s no extradition treaty between Romania and Singapore. Even if you start legal proceedings in Singapore against him, you will have huge difficulties bringing him here,” he told the Straits Times.
One European ambassador described Dr Silviu as a “very strange individual”. Though he is married, he often attended official functions with younger women by his side.
There were no immediate comments from Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo who had received much flak from the public over his callous attitude to the accident.
Three weeks after the accident, Mr Yeo was reported in the media as saying:
“What happened was very bad. A man was killed. People were injured. The police are pursuing the matter very thoroughly but investigations are still ongoing and I shall not be commenting on them.”
[Source: Straits Times, 4 January 2010]
The accident is a PR disaster for the Singapore authorities who appeared to be completely “caught offguard” by it, sparking questions about its efficiency and impartiality.
All are supposed to be equal under the law, but in Singapore ruled by a pro-foreigner ruling party, it appears that some are more equal than others.
