SINGAPORE - Former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu, convicted for a deadly 2009 hit-and-run accident in Singapore, died of cardio-respiratory problems on Tuesday in a Bucharest jail hospital.
Ionescu, Romania's charge d'affaires in Singapore at the time, had been sentenced to six years behind bars in February by a Bucharest appeals court. He was found guilty of manslaughter for hitting three pedestrians in December 2009 while driving a car belonging to the Romanian mission.
One of the pedestrians, a 30-year-old Malaysian, died. The court also found him guilty of inflicting injuries and fleeing from the location of the crash.
We look back at the case through reports from The Straits Times archives:
Guilt will weigh on ex-diplomat forever: Victim
This article was first published on Feb 15, 2014
His dreams of making the national rowing team were snuffed out just over four years ago, when he was one of three victims of a hit-and-run accident.
But despite the doubling of former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu's jail term from three to six years, Mr Muhammad Haris Abu Talib said it does not really matter any more. Read more here
Appeals court doubles Ionescu's sentence
This article was first published on Feb 15, 2014
Romanian police have arrested former diplomat Silviu Ionescu after a Court of Appeal doubled his sentence from three to six years' jail for manslaughter in a 2009 hit-and-run case in Singapore.
Ionescu, 52, continued to protest his innocence as police picked him up early yesterday in the Romanian capital of Bucharest, in the first step before his permanent transfer to jail after the surprise appeals court decision on Thursday. Read more here
Widow of crash victim gets $240k
This article was first published on April 16, 2013
The woman whose husband died after being run down by former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu was awarded $240,000 yesterday at the High Court.
Madam Yenny Young was forced to make the heartbreaking decision to take Mr Tong Kok Wai off life-support after he suffered brain damage in the 2009 accident. Read more here
Ionescu sentenced to three years' jail
This article was first published on March 28, 2013
BUCHAREST - A Bucharest court has found a former Romanian diplomat guilty of a deadly 2009 hit- and-run accident in Singapore and sentenced him to three years in prison, less than half the maximum penalty.
The verdict against Silviu Ionescu, 51, who was Romania's charge d'affaires in Singapore at the time, finally came down late yesterday after a trial that started back in October 2010. Read more here
