A Bucharest court sentenced a former Romanian diplomat to three years in prison today for a 2009 deadly hit-and-run accident in Singapore.

Silviu Ionescu, who was Romania's charge d’affaires in Singapore, was found guilty of 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.

His lawyer told AFP he will appeal.

The former diplomat’s defence team argued during the trial that he should be acquitted on grounds that there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime.

Ionescu, who fled Singapore shortly after the accident, has always claimed the Romanian mission’s car was stolen. He has been on trial since October 2010.

- AFP