SINGAPORE: Mr Richard Magnus, chairman of the Public Transport Council (PTC) and retired chief district judge died on Monday (Mar 14). He was 78.
Mr Magnus was appointed chairman of PTC in 2014, having served the council since 2012. Before joining PTC, Mr Magnus was Board Director of the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
He was also the founding chairman of Temasek Foundation Cares and deputy chairman of Temasek Foundation.
Mr Magnus graduated with an LLB (Hons) and LLM from the National University of Singapore, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and the John F Kennedy School of Government. He served as Senior District Judge, a post now referred to as Chief District Judge, of the State Courts of Singapore, retiring after 40 years in the Singapore legal service.
He also served as Singapore’s first representative at the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and as the country’s non-resident ambassador to Finland.
Other positions he held include vice-chairmanship of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Bioethics Committee, as well as board membership of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Independent Review Panel.
He was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Bar) in 2003, the Meritorious Service Medal in 2009, the Public Service Star Medal in 2015 and the Distinguished Service Order for the 2021 National Day Awards for his contributions to public service.
He was also adjunct professor for the School of Law at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
In a Facebook post, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan expressed his condolences to Mr Magnus’ family.
He described Mr Magnus as a “wonderful upright gentleman who epitomised justice, integrity, compassion, humility and service to his nation”.
“I had the privilege of working with him in (the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports) when we were crafting legislation that would ultimately become the Mental Capacity Act 2008,” Dr Balakrishnan wrote.
“His keen insights, attention to detail and due process were invaluable. Over the years I have been blessed to interact with him in diverse fields.”
PTC said it was "deeply saddened" by the demise of Mr Magnus.
"More than a man of principle and conviction, Mr Magnus cares deeply for the community, especially the vulnerable and those with special needs," added PTC.
Non-profit organisation PAVE also paid tribute to Mr Magnus in a Facebook post, calling him “one of the finest human beings we knew”.
“As a Judge, he was very in tune with social work issues and had a real compassion for the vulnerable, children, youth, elderly and families,” the post said.
“When he was in the Family Court, he recognised the importance of community justice and when PAVE approached the Family Court to provide services to survivors of family violence in the community, he loaned us our first ever video link system, which was a game changer for the provision of immediate help to those who needed protection.
“This was in 1999. PAVE will forever be in his debt. This is a great loss to Singapore and we grieve the loss of Mr Magnus alongside his family and friends.”
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Mr Magnus was appointed chairman of PTC in 2014, having served the council since 2012. Before joining PTC, Mr Magnus was Board Director of the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
He was also the founding chairman of Temasek Foundation Cares and deputy chairman of Temasek Foundation.
Mr Magnus graduated with an LLB (Hons) and LLM from the National University of Singapore, and is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and the John F Kennedy School of Government. He served as Senior District Judge, a post now referred to as Chief District Judge, of the State Courts of Singapore, retiring after 40 years in the Singapore legal service.
He also served as Singapore’s first representative at the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and as the country’s non-resident ambassador to Finland.
Other positions he held include vice-chairmanship of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International Bioethics Committee, as well as board membership of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Independent Review Panel.
He was conferred the Public Administration Medal (Gold) (Bar) in 2003, the Meritorious Service Medal in 2009, the Public Service Star Medal in 2015 and the Distinguished Service Order for the 2021 National Day Awards for his contributions to public service.
He was also adjunct professor for the School of Law at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
In a Facebook post, Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan expressed his condolences to Mr Magnus’ family.
He described Mr Magnus as a “wonderful upright gentleman who epitomised justice, integrity, compassion, humility and service to his nation”.
“I had the privilege of working with him in (the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports) when we were crafting legislation that would ultimately become the Mental Capacity Act 2008,” Dr Balakrishnan wrote.
“His keen insights, attention to detail and due process were invaluable. Over the years I have been blessed to interact with him in diverse fields.”
PTC said it was "deeply saddened" by the demise of Mr Magnus.
"More than a man of principle and conviction, Mr Magnus cares deeply for the community, especially the vulnerable and those with special needs," added PTC.
Non-profit organisation PAVE also paid tribute to Mr Magnus in a Facebook post, calling him “one of the finest human beings we knew”.
“As a Judge, he was very in tune with social work issues and had a real compassion for the vulnerable, children, youth, elderly and families,” the post said.
“When he was in the Family Court, he recognised the importance of community justice and when PAVE approached the Family Court to provide services to survivors of family violence in the community, he loaned us our first ever video link system, which was a game changer for the provision of immediate help to those who needed protection.
“This was in 1999. PAVE will forever be in his debt. This is a great loss to Singapore and we grieve the loss of Mr Magnus alongside his family and friends.”
Continue reading...