Thirugnana Sampanthar Sinnathuray (22 September 1930 – 18 January 2016),
[.] known professionally as T. S. Sinnathuray and to his friends as Sam Sinnathuray,
[.] was a judge of the
High Court of
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. Educated at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
and called to the bar at
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincol ...
, he practised for a few years in a law firm before beginning a career with the
Singapore Legal Service
The Singapore Legal Service is the collective body of lawyers who work in the courts, the Attorney-General's Chambers, and the legal departments of various government ministries and statutory boards in Singapore. Lawyers who are a part of the le ...
, serving with the
Attorney-General's Chambers
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have ex ...
as
Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Ad ...
and deputy public prosecutor (1960–1963), and senior state counsel (1966–1967); with the
Subordinate Courts
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
as a magistrate (1956–1959), first district judge (1967–1970), and senior district judge (1971–1978); and with the
Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
as
deputy registrar and sheriff (1959–1960), and registrar (1963–1966). In 1978 he was elevated to the office of Judge of the
High Court of Singapore
The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal of Singapore, Court of Appeal. It consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore, chief justice and the judicial offic ...
, and served until his retirement in 1997.
Notable cases judged by Sinnathuray included the
Toa Payoh ritual murders
The Toa Payoh ritual murders took place in Singapore in 1981. On 25 January, the body of a nine-year-old girl was found at a block of public housing flats in the town of Toa Payoh, and two weeks later, the body of a ten-year-old boy was ...
trial in 1983, the 1988 legal challenge by the ''
Asian Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal Asia'', a version of ''The Wall Street Journal'', was a newspaper that provided news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. Formerly known as ''The Asian Wall Street Journal'', it was founde ...
'' against the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
's move to restrict its circulation for having engaged in the domestic politics of Singapore, and the trial of the serial murderer
John Martin Scripps
John Martin (born John Martin Scripps, 9 December 1959 – 19 April 1996) was an English spree killer who murdered three tourists—Gerard Lowe in Singapore, and Sheila and Darin Damude in Thailand—with another three unconfirmed victims. He p ...
in 1995. In 1986 a commission of inquiry chaired by Sinnathuray found that allegations by opposition politician
J. B. Jeyaretnam that the Government had interfered with the subordinate judiciary were unfounded. Sinnathuray was one of two foreign members of the Royal Tribunal, a panel of six judges convened by the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...
(King) of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
to investigate alleged misdemeanours of
Tun
TUN or tun may refer to:
Biology
* Tun shells, large sea snails of the family '' Tonnidae''
* Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state
* Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona''
Places
* Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra ...
Salleh Abas
Mohamed Salleh bin Abas ( Jawi: محمد صالح بن عباس; 25 August 1929 – 16 January 2021) was a Malaysian judge and politician. He was a Lord President of the Federal (then Supreme) Court of Malaysia. He was dismissed from his ...
, Malaysia's
Lord President of the Supreme Court The title of Lord President of the Supreme Court was formerly the title of the head of the judiciary in Malaysia, until 1994 when the office was renamed " Chief Justice of the Federal Court".
The Lord President was head of the highest court in Mal ...
, in 1988.
Sinnathuray was the first non-European to act as the president of the
Singapore Cricket Club
The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) is one of the premier sports and social clubs in Singapore.
Its clubhouse is located on Connaught Drive on the south end of the Padang in Singapore's central business district.
History
The SCC was esta ...
(1976–1978). Following his retirement from the bench he pursued his interest in
numismatics
Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects.
Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inc ...
, becoming the chairman and chief executive officer of Mavin International Pte. Ltd., an auction company specialising in rare coins and banknotes.
For his judicial service, Sinnathuray was conferred the ''
Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
The Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (English: Public Service Star) is a Singaporean decoration instituted in 1963, is awarded to any person who has rendered valuable public service to the people of Singapore, or who has distinguished themselves in the ...
'' (B.B.M.; Public Service Star) at the National Day Awards in 1997. In 2009, he received an additional ''Lintang'' (Bar) on his B.B.M. for his membership of the Singapore Note and Coin Advisory Committee.
Early life and education
![Portico and steps, University College, London - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Portico_and_steps%2C_University_College%2C_London_-_geograph.org.uk_-_364428.jpg)
T. S. Sinnathuray was born on 22 September 1930, the son of a school principal. He received his early education at Pearl's Hill School and
Outram School, but this was cut short by the
Japanese occupation of Singapore
, officially , was the name for Singapore when it was occupied and ruled by the Empire of Japan, following the fall and surrender of British military forces on 15 February 1942 during World War II.
Japanese military forces occupied it afte ...
in February 1942. He continued his secondary education in
Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution (RI) is an independent educational institution in Singapore. Founded in 1823, it is the oldest school in the country. It provides secondary education for boys only from Year 1 to Year 4, and pre-university education for both ...
after World War II, completing his
Senior Cambridge
The Senior Cambridge examinations were General Certificate of Education examinations held in India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Singapore. They were preceded by the Junior Cambridge and Preliminary Cambridge examinations.
History India
The ...
examinations there in 1948. He went on to read law at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
and graduated in 1953. He was called to the Bar at
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincol ...
.
[.]
Legal career
Upon Sinnathuray's return to Singapore, he practised law with the firm Oehlers and Choa. He was a magistrate of the
Subordinate Courts of Singapore
The State Courts of Singapore (formerly the Subordinate Courts) is one of the three categories of courts in Singapore, the other categories being the Supreme Court and Family Justice Courts. The State Courts comprise the District and Magistrate C ...
between 1956 and 1959. He was then appointed
deputy registrar and sheriff of the
Supreme Court of Singapore
The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal of Singapore, Court of Appeal and the High Court of Singapore, High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both ...
in 1959. Between 1960 and 1963 he was a
Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Ad ...
and deputy public prosecutor with the
Attorney-General's Chambers
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have ex ...
(AGC), before returning to the supreme court to become the registrar from 1963 to 1966. He then became senior state counsel at the AGC (1966–1967), and first district judge (1967–1970) and senior district judge – the most senior judge – of the subordinate courts (1971–1978).
On 2 October 1978, he was appointed a judge of the
High Court of Singapore
The High Court of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper division being the Court of Appeal of Singapore, Court of Appeal. It consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore, chief justice and the judicial offic ...
, and served until his retirement on 23 September 1997. At the time of his appointment, he was one of only six supreme court justices. On 1 August 1979, he was appointed the commissioner of appeals for land acquisitions.
![Old Supreme Court Building, Singapore - 20091018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Old_Supreme_Court_Building%2C_Singapore_-_20091018.jpg)
Notable cases judged by Sinnathuray included the
Toa Payoh ritual murders
The Toa Payoh ritual murders took place in Singapore in 1981. On 25 January, the body of a nine-year-old girl was found at a block of public housing flats in the town of Toa Payoh, and two weeks later, the body of a ten-year-old boy was ...
trial in 1983, and the trial of the serial murderer
John Martin Scripps
John Martin (born John Martin Scripps, 9 December 1959 – 19 April 1996) was an English spree killer who murdered three tourists—Gerard Lowe in Singapore, and Sheila and Darin Damude in Thailand—with another three unconfirmed victims. He p ...
in 1995. In 1985 he ruled that decisions of Singapore's Military Court of Appeal are not susceptible to
judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
in the High Court since the Military Court is a
superior court of
record. Sinnathuray also served as the third president of the Military Court of Appeal from 1990 until 30 November 1997, and was succeeded by Justice Goh Joon Seng.
On 16 May 1988, Sinnathuray ruled that the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
was entitled under the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act to restrict the circulation of the ''
Asian Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal Asia'', a version of ''The Wall Street Journal'', was a newspaper that provided news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. Formerly known as ''The Asian Wall Street Journal'', it was founde ...
'' for having engaged in the domestic politics of Singapore. The decision was upheld by the
Court of Appeal the following year.
Sinnathuray was the inaugural chairman of the
ASEAN
ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...
Law Association (ALA) (Singapore Chapter) when it was formed in 1980. On 18 April 1986, he was appointed by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Wee Kim Wee
Wee Kim Wee ( zh, s=黄金辉, poj=Ûiⁿ Kim-hui, p=Huáng Jīnhuī, first=s,poj,p; 4 November 1915 – 2 May 2005) was a Singaporean journalist and diplomat who served as the fourth president of Singapore from 1985 until his resignation in ...
to chair a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations by opposition politician
J. B. Jeyaretnam that the Government had interfered with the subordinate judiciary by ordering the transfer of Senior District Judge Michael Khoo to the AGC as Senior State Counsel and Deputy Public Prosecutor after Khoo had rendered a judgment which had allegedly displeased the Government. In a report released on 19 July 1986, the commission found the allegation to be unfounded. In 1988, Sinnathuray was one of two foreign members of the Royal Tribunal, a panel of six judges convened by the
Yang di-Pertuan Agong
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong (, Jawi: ), also known as the Supreme Head of the Federation, the Paramount Ruler or simply as the Agong, and unofficially as the King of Malaysia, is the constitutional monarch and head of state of Malaysia. The o ...
(King) of
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
to investigate alleged misdemeanours of
Tun
TUN or tun may refer to:
Biology
* Tun shells, large sea snails of the family '' Tonnidae''
* Tun, a tardigrade in its cryptobiotic state
* Tun or Toon, common name for trees of the genus '' Toona''
Places
* Tun, Sweden, a locality in Västra ...
Salleh Abas
Mohamed Salleh bin Abas ( Jawi: محمد صالح بن عباس; 25 August 1929 – 16 January 2021) was a Malaysian judge and politician. He was a Lord President of the Federal (then Supreme) Court of Malaysia. He was dismissed from his ...
, Malaysia's
Lord President of the Supreme Court The title of Lord President of the Supreme Court was formerly the title of the head of the judiciary in Malaysia, until 1994 when the office was renamed " Chief Justice of the Federal Court".
The Lord President was head of the highest court in Mal ...
.
Other interests
![Singapore Cricket Club 3, Jan 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Singapore_Cricket_Club_3%2C_Jan_06.JPG)
Sinnathuray was the first non-European to be elected the president of the
Singapore Cricket Club
The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) is one of the premier sports and social clubs in Singapore.
Its clubhouse is located on Connaught Drive on the south end of the Padang in Singapore's central business district.
History
The SCC was esta ...
, serving from 1976 to 1978.
[.] In 1993, the Singapore Chapter of University College London Alumni was founded by Sinnathuray (who served as its first president) and his fellow alumni friends to provide for the welfare and interest of UCL graduates in Singapore and as a local platform for networking with members from other chapters around the world.
A
numismatist
A numismatist is a specialist in numismatics ("of coins"; from Late Latin ''numismatis'', genitive of ''numisma''). Numismatists include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholars who use coins and other currency in object-based research. Altho ...
and an expert on Singapore and
Malaya postcards, Sinnathuray was the chairman of the Third Singapore Note and Coin Advisory Committee of the board of commissioners of Currency Singapore,
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is the central bank and financial regulatory authority of Singapore. It administers the various statutes pertaining to money, banking, insurance, securities and the financial sector in general, as well ...
, serving from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2008. He was also the chairman and chief executive officer of Mavin International Pte. Ltd., an auction company specialising in rare coins and banknotes.
Death
Sinnathuray, who had a heart condition and was on
dialysis, died of
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...
at the
Singapore General Hospital
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (OC ...
on 18 January 2016.
He was survived by his wife Sandra Devi; his son Chandra Raj, daughter Shamona Ranee, and their spouses; and three grandchildren. His younger brother, the
obstetrician and gynaecologist
Obstetrics and Gynaecology (also spelled as Obstetrics and Gynecology; abbreviated as Obs and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and t ...
Datuk
Datuk (or its variant Dato or Datu) is a Malay title commonly used in Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia, as well as a traditional title by Minangkabau people in West Sumatra, Indonesia.
The title of the wife of Datuk is Datin.
Origin
The oldes ...
Professor Dr.
Thirunavuk Arasu Sinnathuray, predeceased him in 1997.
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon
Sundaresh Menon (born 26 February 1962) is a Singaporean lawyer and jurist who has been serving as the fourth chief justice of Singapore since 2012, appointed by President Tony Tan.
Education
Sundaresh graduated from the National University of ...
said: "Justice Sinnathuray was a very popular judge who always treated counsel with great courtesy. He loved the law and the legal fraternity and made it a point to attend many of our functions and events for as long as he was able to. Many of us on the Bench today remember him warmly as a good friend and colleague. We will miss him dearly." The
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
,
V. K. Rajah, said that Sinnathuray had made "significant contributions" and would be "warmly remembered by the legal community for his unfailing courtesy and his commonsensical approach towards resolving knotty legal issues".
Awards and honours
For his judicial service, Sinnathuray was conferred the ''
Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
The Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (English: Public Service Star) is a Singaporean decoration instituted in 1963, is awarded to any person who has rendered valuable public service to the people of Singapore, or who has distinguished themselves in the ...
'' (B.B.M.; Public Service Star) at the National Day Awards in 1997. In 2009, he received an additional ''Lintang'' (Bar) on his B.B.M. for his membership of the Singapore Note and Coin Advisory Committee.
[; .]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinnathuray, T S
1930 births
Singaporean people of Indian descent
2016 deaths
Alumni of University College London
Deaths from pneumonia in Singapore
Judges of the Supreme Court of Singapore
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Raffles Institution alumni
Recipients of the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat
Singaporean Hindus
20th-century Singaporean judges
Singaporean people of Tamil descent