A Finnish U.N. worker accused of killing an East Timorese woman in a hit-and-run traffic accident has arrived home but did not flea the police, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The man, who was working as a border official in East Timor, came home several weeks ago, said Pekka Hyvonen, a ministry counselor.
''He didn't flea. After questioning him, local officials gave him his passport and said he could leave the country,'' Hyvonen told The Associated Press.
Hyvonen declined to reveal his whereabouts or give other details about him.
The man is accused of hitting a 72-year-old East Timorese woman on a motorbike when driving his car in the capital, Dili, on Oct. 21. He did not stop and was picked up by police 15 minutes later.
Hyvonen said many international organizations and embassies recommend their workers in foreign countries don't stop if involved in an accident ''because of a possible lynching mentality.''
After an investigation, the U.N. administration waived the Finn's diplomatic immunity and confiscated his passport, but later returned it.
''Officials felt the case was not serious enough for him to be held and said the trial could be conducted in absentia,'' Hyvonen said.
The U.N. worker is accused of wreckless driving and causing death in a traffic accident, Hyvonen said. He did not know the maximum sentence for the crime nor when the trial will begin.
Officials in Dili told the Foreign Ministry that if the man is found guilty, he could serve his sentence in Finland, Hyvonen said.