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 Click!, 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.
http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/01/09/romanian-court-investigation-of-dr-silviu-ionescu-will-take-several-years/
