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BUCHAREST, Romania : Former Romanian diplomat Silviu Ionescu has asked to be released on judicial supervision on the first day of his manslaughter trial in Romania.
Ionescu is wanted in Singapore for his involvement in two hit-and-run accidents along Bukit Panjang on December 15 last year in which one person was killed and two others injured.
Ionescu was indicted by Romania's General Prosecutor's Office for homicide. He is also accused of causing physical injuries and making false statements.
Ionescu has been in custody in Romania since May. In court on Tuesday, the judge heard statements from the prosecutors, the defence and the defendant himself.
Ionescu was brought to the courtroom wearing handcuffs. He looked somewhat tired and grim, but he did wave to someone in the audience, quite possibly one of his two sons who was present at the hearing.
The Romanian diplomat then asked to be released under judicial supervision, which in Romanian law means that the defendant is released but has to report to the police.
He is not allowed to leave the country, nor is he allowed to talk to the witnesses or the victims of the case as long as the trial is continuing.
The judge is expected to make a decision within several days.
During the hearing, Ionescu claimed the evidence against him was not only insufficient, but was also falsified.
He said that he did not write the very first report to the police, detailing exactly what happened in December last year. Although he admitted that he wrote the second report, he said it was rewritten by someone else and contained mistakes.
Ionescu's lawyer, Nelu Tasca, told Channel NewsAsia that his client maintains that he is innocent. He said he was not driving the Romanian mission's car that night, and that the existing evidence against him was not sufficient to keep the diplomat in custody.
He said the allegation that Ionescu was behind the wheel that night were just a vague assumption.
Nelu Tasca, one of Ionescu's lawyers, said: "We asked for very important pieces of evidence from the prosecutor, but our requests were denied without motivation by the prosecutor.
"His car was stolen and he wasn't driving. And the prosecutor's allegation that he was behind the wheel is just a vague assumption. From my point of view, many people could have had access to that car.
"The driver had a set of keys and the inquest proved that there was a third set of keys, so theoretically speaking, anyone could have taken the car from outside the embassy and go to a petrol station, to buy cigarettes and so on."
Earlier, Ionescu claimed that the car was stolen and that claim, according to prosecutors, does not conform to reality.
Neither of the victims of the accident nor their representatives was present at the hearing, but they are likely to be invited to the trial later on, in accordance with Romania's laws.
One person died and two were injured in two separate hit-and-run accidents in Singapore on December 15.
One of the victims is claiming over $630,000 in compensation.
- CNA/al
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