Romanian ex-diplomat wants to offer moral compensations to family of his Singapore victim

Romanian ex-diplomat Silviu Ionescu, accused of killing a man in a hit-and-run accident in December in Singapore, said he was willing to offer „moral compensations” to the family of the victim, according to StraitsTimes.

In an email addressed to the Singaporean foreign Affairs minister George Yeo, Silviu ionescu writes that he will offer „moral compensations” to Tong Kok Wai’s wife, the family of his 30-year old victim who lost his life in the accident.

Singaporean Foreign Affairs Ministry sent the Romanian Embassy here a diplomatic note in the first half of February, asking for the Romanian representatives’ support to bring diplomat Silviu ionescu back to Singapore in order to be heard in the investigations addressing the fatal car accident he was involved in.

The Romanian ex-business attaché to Singapore claims that he had to suddenly leave Singapore due to a „medical issue”, but he also pointed pout that prosecutors in Singapore have allegedly accused him „long time before they had the right to do it”.

Silviu Ionescu was suspended by the Romanian Foreign affairs Ministry (MAE) after being accused of killing a man in an accident. Ionescu was Romania’s business attaché to Singapore. He is being accused by the authorities in this country of provoking a serious traffic accident in December 2009, which led to the death of one man and two others were injured.

On December 15 2009, a car belonging to the Romanian Embassy, a black Audi A6, hit three pedestrians around 03:10 a.m. local time (December 14, 21:10 Romanian time) in Bukit Panjang. One of the victims, Tong Kok Wai, aged 30, suffered a skull traumatism and died on Christmas day. Two other pedestrians were injured.

The Romanian Foreign Affairs Ministry requested on January 5 from the prosecutors of the High Justice Court – the Penal and Criminalist Investigation office – to investigate the accident and decided to recall Silviu Ionescu in Romania.

The diplomat has been officially under investigations for murder, running from the scene of the accident and false declarations on February 3, when Romanian prosecutors heard him and made the accusations public. Silviu Ionescu was suspended from MAE during the investigation.

Usually, the procedure involving a diplomat accredited to a certain state has to take place in the country from where the diplomat originates.