Asylum seeker flees death crash charges

Beth Hale|Daily Mail13 April 2012

Police throughout Europe have been asked to hunt down a Sri Lankan accused of causing the car crash deaths of a pregnant teacher and her baby.

Ratnam Yogan, 29, is believed to have fled the UK after being allowed bail against the wishes of both victim Deborah Peaty's family and Northamptonshire police.

Last night her parents and fiance told of their outrage that Yogan may never face a court. They are furious at the blunder which meant he was not made to hand over his travel documents - supposedly a condition of bail. In an emotional statement, Bill and Marge Peaty and their daughter's partner Jason Leach said: 'Our worst fears have been realised as, to be honest, we always suspected they would be.

'This has caused untold distress to a family and partner who are already grieving the death of a wonderful and vibrant young lady.'

To add to their pain, it emerged yesterday that a second Sri Lankan in the case - accused of a lesser offence - has also skipped bail. Miss Peaty, 26, who was seven months pregnant, died last October after her Vauxhall Corsa was in collision with a BMW allegedly driven by Yogan, an asylum seeker who had been given permission to stay in Britain just two months earlier.

Miss Peaty was trapped behind her steering wheel and was dead by the time she reached hospital.

Her daughter was delivered by Caesarean section and named Charlotte Emily Louise but tragically did not survive.

Yogan was charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving in the crash near Potterspury, Northamptonshire, and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Pushparajah Sinnappayal, 25, who has been turned down for asylum, was also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice, as was Ramasamy Nallaikkanthan, 28, who is understood to have been granted leave to stay in the country.

The three denied the charges at Northampton Crown Court in January and were bailed to appear again last week.

By then, however, Yogan had vanished. And last night it emerged that Sinnappayal has not been seen since the hearing last Tuesday, even though his bail conditions included reporting to police each day.

Detectives initially thought Yogan was in London, where he has family, or Leicester, where he has friends at university, but all inquiries in the two cities drew a blank.

Police now believe he was in Germany last week and they are liaising with Interpol.

Inspector Geoff Gascoigne, of Northamptonshire Police, said: 'We opposed the bail conditions in this case but unfortunately the judiciary decided otherwise.

'Yogan's failure to turn up at court is costing us a lot of time and money trying to bring him back to justice. It is extremely frustrating from our point of view and, not least, distressing for Miss Peaty's family.'

Of Sinnappayal, he said: 'We are actively pursuing inquiries across the country, particularly in Leicester and London. We are asking anyone who knows his whereabouts to contact us.

'At this stage there is no reason to believe he has left the country or is with Ratnam Yogan. However, we have issued an all ports alert in relation to his disappearance.'

A spokesman for the Department of Constitutional Affairs said responsibility for the surrender of travel documents had been transferred from the police to the courts. He said documents, including passports, should be handed to court officials within a 'few days' of bail being granted in. If that does not happen it is the responsibility of court officials to report it so it can be enforced.

At her home in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire Mrs Peaty wept as she spoke of her daughter.

She said: 'We have lost a daughter and a grandaughter through this and we are still very much a family grieving for their deaths'.

Tory MP Andrew Rosindell called the case appalling.

He said: 'Clearly, the authorities have been naive in granting bail. I find it astonishing that they did so. Almost inevitably two of the accused have now scarpered. It shows just how absurd the asylum system has become and why the British people are so rightfully angry about it.'

A series of recent cases have highlighted problems with asylum seekers on British roads, many driving untaxed, uninsured vehicles and some unable to understand road signs.

Earlier this month, as he jailed an illegal immigrant involved in the hit-and-run death of a nine-year-old boy, Judge Anthony Thorpe said many asylum seekers had little respect for the law. He called for moves to ensure the removal of those refused permission to stay.

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