Subhas Anandan

Subhas Anandan

Subhas Anandan
Born 25 December 1947
Kerala, India
Died 7 January 2015 (aged 67)
Singapore
Education Raffles Institution
University of Singapore
Occupation Lawyer

Subhas Anandan[1] (25 December 1947 – 7 January 2015) was a prominent criminal lawyer in Singapore.[2][3][4][5] He had appeared in numerous high-profile cases, including that of Quan Yi Fong,[6] and the kidney transplant case involving retail tycoon Tang Wee Sung. At the time of his death, he was the senior partner in law firm RHTLaw Taylor Wessing LLP and headed its department in criminal law.[3][7] He was a founding member and the first president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore.[7][8][9] He was also the president of Cuesports Singapore, the national sports association for billiards, snooker and pool.[7] Towards the end of his life Anandan's health began to deteriorate and in January 2015 he died of heart failure.

Early life

Subhas Anandan was born on 25 December 1947[10] to Raman Anandan[11][1] and Govindan Pushpanjaly,[12] in Kerala, India.[7] When he was five months old, the family migrated from Kerala to Singapore, where his father had found work as a clerk in the British Royal Navy. They lived in the staff quarters within the British naval base in Sembawang until his father retired in the early 1970s.[13]

Anandan attended primary and secondary school in the naval base, first at Admiralty Asian School and then Naval Base School.[14] He excelled academically and in sports too, including cricket and football. In 1963, after achieving a first grade in his Senior Cambridge (now 'O’ level) examinations, he left for India to study medicine in Madras (now Chennai) under the request of his mother. But after the first few lessons, he was convinced that he was not meant to be a doctor. He returned home after three months and started his pre-university education at Raffles Institution in 1964.[15]

After completing his Higher School Certificate (now 'A’ level) examinations, he wanted to join the police force but eventually enrolled in the University of Singapore[16] at the insistence of his father. While pursuing a degree in law, he participated in various extra-curricular activities, including playing on the university's football team and serving as secretary-general of the Socialists' Club.[7] He obtained his law degree in 1970 and went on to become to protege of Chan Sek Keong, then a senior partner at law firm Shook Lin & Bok and, later, a former Chief Justice of Singapore.[7]

Later years and career

In March 1976,[17] Anandan was arrested by a corrupt police officer for suspected involvement in a secret society under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act.[18][19][20] He was exonerated in November of the same year following an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.[21]

Anandan started the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore in 2002, with the goal of raising the number of criminal lawyers in the country.[22] In 2011, Anandan, alongside law practitioners including Rajan Menon, founded RHTLaw TaylorWessing and stayed on as one of its senior partners until his death.[10][22]

He had started his practice handling mainly civil, accident and family cases but soon began gravitating towards criminal law. In his lifetime, he had handled over a thousand criminal cases involving a wide range of crimes, including murder, rape, maid abuse, drug trafficking and white-collar offences. Known for his sharp and stinging attacks in the courtroom, he was nicknamed "the Basher"[7] within the law community. His presence in court had been characterised as intimidating, given his fierce stares and voluminous beard. As one of Singapore's top criminal defence lawyers, he had appeared so frequently in the media that some people called him a "publicity hound".[7]

While he was critical of some aspects of the criminal justice system in Singapore, he believed that the system had to be followed. He also had a personal mantra of "the most heinous offenders deserve their day in a court of law"; hence Anandan had claimed to have never rejected cases because of the offence the person had been charged with.[16][23]

Personal life and death

Anandan first applied for Singapore citizenship in 1972, but was informed a decade later that his application had been turned down.[7] He tried again 2002, and was then finally granted citizenship.[7]

According to Anandan's book, "The Best I Could", Former Solicitor-General Francis Seow owes Anandan $25,000 since the 1980s, after Seow left the country when faced with income tax charges.[24]

Anandan was particularly passionate about big-capacity cars.[3] He developed this liking in his secondary school days, when he saw other students driving or being driven around in luxury cars like Mercedes Benzes[3] and Jaguars. Beside owning luxury cars, he liked collecting antique or miniature swords, sabres and Malay krises. He often went to the Singapore Cricket Club to play snooker and billiards as a means of releasing work-induced stress. He also spent most of his time at the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple, where he was the chairman of its Board of Trustees.[3]

An active sportsman in his youth,[4] he was taking 22 types of medication every day because of his deteriorating health in the later years up to his death.[21][4] He had had three heart attacks,[25] and had also undergone a heart bypass and an angioplasty.[4] He had also lost one kidney to cancer and was a diabetic.[4][7][4][7]

At around 11:00 p.m. (GMT+8) on Wednesday, 7 January 2015, Anandan died while warded at Singapore General Hospital of complications from heart failure, which he was diagnosed with in 2014.[26] His death triggered an outpouring of grief especially amongst members of the law industry in Singapore. Law and Foreign Minister Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam hailed Anandan as a "titan in criminal law" as well as a "legal legend", while Attorney-General V.K. Rajah lauded his "uncanny legal acumen".[27] His funeral, which was attended by "hundreds",[22] was held the next evening and Anandan's body was cremated with Hindu rites on the same day.[22][28][29]

Legacy

Anandan was awarded the Legal Eagle Award of 2001 conferred by the Law Society of Singapore.[3][7]

Anandan was honoured by the Association of Muslim Lawyers (Singapore) on 28 October 2014 for his substantial contributions towards the legal profession and being a champion of pro bono work for several decades. During the tribute ceremony held at the Supreme Court Auditorium attended by some 400 members of the legal community including Minister K. Shanmugam, former President Mr S R Nathan, Attorney-General V K Rajah and several Judges and Judges of Appeal, the newly formed "Yellow Ribbon Fund Subhas Anandan Star Bursary Award" worth $250,000/= was launched which would provide financial support to ex-inmates who wished to pursue further education and a second chance in society, a cause pioneered by Anandan during his four-decade career.[30] His 2009 book The Best I Could, documenting his more famous cases, was adapted into a Channel 5 television series of the same name. It ran for two seasons.[31]

References

  1. 1 2 "R. Anandan Obituary". The Straits Times. 14 November 1984. p. 39.
  2. ↑ Chan, C. (16 May 2007) "Regrets? He has a few..." The New Paper. Retrieved 29 January 2010
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Interview with Criminal Lawyer, Mr. Subhas Anandan Singapore Law Review. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Joycelyn Wong (11 December 2008). "My own family scolds me for the cases I take". AsiaOne. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  5. ↑ Shibani Mahtani (9 July 2012). "Singapore to Soften Death Penalty for Drugs". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  6. ↑ "Quan Yifeng hires top lawyer". Singapore Law Watch.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Yap, S. (30 June 2008). "Soaring legal eagle" The Straits Times. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  8. ↑ "Church's remarks could interfere judicial process: Lawyers". AsiaOne. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Singapore to legalise anal, oral sex – but only for heterosexuals". Fridae. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Today we grieve the loss of a great man". RHTLaw TaylorWessing. 7 January 2015.
  11. ↑ "Detained lawyer: Father's plea". The Straits Times. 31 January 1976. p. 11.
  12. ↑ "Mdm Govindan Pushpanjaly" Obituary. (6 July 1995). The Straits Times, pg 34. Retrieved 29 January 2010
  13. ↑ Anandan 2009, p. 4.
  14. ↑ Anandan 2009, p. 3.
  15. ↑ Anandan 2009, p. 12.
  16. 1 2 "Regrets? He has a few...". AsiaOne. 1 November 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "Lawyer Subhas acquitted". The Straits Times. 22 February 1976. p. 9.
  18. ↑ "What it should have been". The Straits Times. 18 January 1997. p. 2.
  19. ↑ "2011 U@Live featuring Subhas Anandan". National University of Singapore. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Subhas case: CPIB probe". The Straits Times. 22 March 1976. p. 7.
  21. 1 2 Tay, Mark (2 December 2013). "Subhas Anandan". Esquire Singapore.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Cheng, Kenneth (9 January 2015). "Hundreds pay last respects to Subhas Anandan". Today.
  23. ↑ "‘Second chance lawyer’ Subhas Anandan went the extra mile for his clients". Channel NewsAsia. 8 January 2015.
  24. ↑ Anandan, Subhas (2009). The Best I Could (Chp 27). Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd.
  25. ↑ Anandan 2009, p. 16.
  26. ↑ Lum, Selina (7 January 2015). "Veteran criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan dies of heart failure, aged 67". The Straits Times.
  27. ↑ Lim, Yi Han (8 January 2015). "Tributes pour in for late criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan". The Straits Times.
  28. ↑ "Mass turnout at Subhas Anandan's funeral". Razor. 8 January 2015.
  29. ↑ "Legal legend dies of heart failure at 67". MyPaper.
  30. ↑ Lim, Yi Han (October 28, 2014). "New education fund for ex-inmates named after criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan". The Straits Times. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  31. ↑ "The Best I Could". Toggle.

Bibliography

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