Cover Photo: Facebook/Human Capital Singapore
Photo: Facebook/Human Capital Singapore
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The former senior district judge and Public Transport Council chairman played significant roles in our legal system, in the transport sector and in philanthropy
Richard Magnus, the Public Transport Council chairman and former senior district judge, passed away on March 14 following a heart attack. He was 77.
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Public leaders around the island took to social media to mourn his death and shared their fondest memories of him. The philanthropist and public servant spent over 50 years in the public service making radical changes in our legal courts, our transport industry, philanthropy scene and more.
Tatler takes a look back at some of his most significant contributions to Singapore.
1. He made big changes in the transport sector in Singapore
Above Photo: Facebook/S Iswaran
Photo: Facebook/S Iswaran
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Magnus was the man behind many of the fare reviews and reforms we have seen in our transport system over the years.
He was appointed as chairman of the Public Transport Council in 2014 and led the Fare Review Mechanism Committee. The committee regularly reviewed the public transport fare review mechanism and fare concessionary framework.
“As Chairman of the Public Transport Council since 2014, Richard’s hard work was vital to preserving the delicate but essential balance between quality, affordability and financial sustainability,” wrote Mr S Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry on Facebook in a post acknowledging Richard’s passing.
Magnus also used to be a board director of the Land Transport Authority and chaired the Downtown Line’s Financing Committee.
However, his contributions to the transport sector began long before this. In fact, while he was still a lawyer, he learnt about the ways in which California courts reduced their hearing caseload by allowing less serious traffic cases to be settled at a machine. This idea later became the Automated Traffic Offence Management System, or Atoms, which is still available at AXS payment kiosks today.
2. He presided over many high-profile legal cases
Above Photo: Facebook/Human Capital Singapore
Photo: Facebook/Human Capital Singapore
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Magnus started out as a legal officer during Singapore’s early days of independence. He then moved to the judiciary where his skills and grit led him to becoming the top judge at the Subordinate Courts.
During his time in the legal service, he played key roles in clearing cases and even presided over several high-profile cases.
One of these included the 1995 case of Barings trader Nick Leeson who was jailed for six-and-a-half years for fraud and forgery.
Magnus also worked closely with then Chief Justice Yong Pung How to reform and modernise our current court processes.
He also headed the committees of inquiry over the years and dealt with cases such as the Sembawang Shipyard fire in 1992, the Nicoll Highway collapse in 2014 and the Singhealth data breach in 2018.
3. He took care of the vulnerable and less fortunate
Above Photo: Facebook/Human Capital Singapore
Photo: Facebook/Human Capital Singapore
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Magnus spent his life serving the vulnerable, less fortunate and children, causes he was deeply passionate about.
He was the founding chairman of Temasek Foundation Cares and Deputy Chairman of Temasek Foundation. Under his leadership, he led multiple community initiatives which benefitted more than 62,000 Singaporeans as well as Covid-19 related initiatives that helped multiple households around the country.
At one point, he spearheaded a programme to train therapists to handle child trauma. This was so that vulnerable children would be able to be provided with timely and appropriate care.
For his contributions to the public service, 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.
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Camillia Dass is the digital writer for Tatler Singapore.
