A Sri Lankan refugee was jailed for eight months yesterday for fleeing the country while facing charges of killing a pregnant Midland teacher in a car crash.
He had denied a charge of causing death by dangerous driving and one of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice at an earlier hearing.
Yogan and two other Sri Lankans were facing charges over the death of teacher Deborah Peaty near Potterspury, Northants.
The 26-year-old, originally from Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, but set up home in Daventry, Northants, died when her Vauxhall Corsa was involved in a three-car collision on the A5 on October 20, 2003.
Ratnam Yogan spent 16 months on the run after he was accused of causing the death by dangerous driving of teacher Deborah Peaty and her unborn daughter, Charlotte Louise.
Jailing him for an offence under the bail act, Judge Patrick Eccles QC said Yogan's actions had damaged public confidence in the courts system but added that his admission did not necessarily mean he was guilty of the driving charges.
The judge said: "I want to make it plain that the sentence I pass should not be taken as any indication that you are guilty of the offences with which you are charged."
Yogan (30), a married father-of-one, was arrested in Forest Gate, east London, on Wednesday after his solicitor contacted police saying that he wished to come forward after more than a year as a fugitive.
Ratnam fled the UK on February 7, last year, just three days before a scheduled court appearance.
