By Rachel Chan

HE WAS the one in charge of the black Audi A6, so the Romanian Embassy's administrative officer, Mr Marius Trusca, was worried when Dr Silviu Ionescu called him early one morning last December to say that the vehicle had been "stolen".

At yesterday's inquiry into the death of Mr Tong Kok Wai, Mr Trusca said that he was awakened at 3.30am on Dec 15 last year by a succession of phone calls from the former diplomat.

He then stayed awake until daybreak, as he was worried about the Audi's whereabouts. He did not know then that it had been involved in a series of hit-and-run accidents.

The Romanian authorities had waived MrTrusca's diplomatic immunity so that he could testify as a witness.

The 43-year-old, whose duties include driving the charge d'affaires to his duties and functions, testified that he had handed over the Audi to Dr Ionescu between 9.30pm and 9.45pm on Dec 14 last year before returning to the embassy in Jalan Harom Setangkai, where he resides.

At about 3.30am on Dec 15 last year, he got a call from Dr Ionescu who said that "something happened" and then hung up. Dr Ionescu called again, this time saying that the car had been stolen. At 3.59am, his boss called a third time to tell him not to call the police as he had already done so.

Later, the former diplomat called a fourth time to ask Mr Trusca to pick him up from his Grange Road residence at 9am so that he could go to the police.

But when the driver arrived at Grange Road at 8.30am, his boss redirected him back to the embassy so that Dr Ionescu could prepare a statement.

On the way there, Dr Ionescu asked Mr Trusca to do a curious thing: Look around for the missing vehicle in the embassy's neighbourhood.

"We looked around only near Jalan Harom Setangkai. We did not go out of the way. I felt puzzled as to why we had to look for the car there when it was already stolen," Mr Trusca said in his statement submitted on Feb 26.

He said that the embassy owned two vehicles with diplomatic plates, namely an Audi, bearing the licence number S3401CD, and a BMW.

On the night before the accidents, Mr Trusca had driven the BMW from the embassy to Dr Ionescu's home before switching to the Audi. He later drove Dr Ionescu and "an Asian lady" he picked up from Hillcrest Arcadia condominium to Shangri-La Hotel, where the two attended an event to commemorate Kazakhstan's national day.

At about 9pm, Mr Trusca drove them back to Dr Ionescu's residence, where he removed the Romanian flag from the Audi before handing over the car to Dr Ionescu. Mr Trusca then drove the BMW parked in his boss' garage back to the embassy.

Speaking through an interpreter, he explained that he had removed the flag because it is displayed only when the vehicle is used for official business.

When asked for an update on the criminal proceedings against Dr Ionescu in Romania, Mr Alexandru Coseru, the acting charge d'affaires, yesterday said the Romanian authorities had submitted a diplomatic note to Singapore's Ministry of Law, requesting access to evidence presented in the coroner's inquiry.

The Romanian authorities are investigating Dr Ionescu for manslaughter charges, among others.

Mr Trusca is one of the last few witnesses to take the stand in this inquiry.

It is expected to conclude today, after two Traffic Police officers testify.

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