Subhas Anandan (25 December 1947 – 7 January 2015) was an Indian-Singaporean notable criminal lawyer. He had appeared in numerous notable cases, including a case involving actress Quan Yi Fong hitting a taxi driver in 2010, and a case involving retail tycoon Tang Wee Sung in 2008 — who tried to illegally purchase a kidney from a living donor, as well as many murder cases, like those of Anthony Ler who manipulated and instigated a 15-year-old boy to kill his estranged wife in 2001;

Took Leng How Huang Na () (26 September 199610 October 2004) was an eight-year-old Chinese national residing in Pasir Panjang, Singapore, who disappeared on 10 October 2004. Her mother, the police and the community conducted a three-week-long nationwide ...

, who murdered Huang Na in 2004; robber and kidnapper Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah; Tan Chor Jin, who shot a nightclub owner in Serangoon; and

Leong Siew Chor The Kallang River body parts murder was a murder and dismemberment case that occurred in Singapore. The case earned its name due to the body parts of the victim, 22-year-old Liu Hong Mei (), being found disposed in Kallang River. In this case, ...

, who killed and dismembered his lover. Anandan also represented

Salakau Salakau ( zh, s=三六九, poj=Saⁿ-la̍k-káu), which means 369 in Hokkien, also known as "Sah Lak Kau", is a street gang or secret society based in Singapore. The numbers 3, 6 and 9 add up to 18, which was the name of an older gang; the nu ...

gang member Khairul Famy bin Mohamed Samsudin in the murder trial related to the 2001 death of national football player

Sulaiman bin Hashim On the early morning of 31 May 2001, 17-year-old national footballer Sulaiman bin Hashim (4 June 1983 – 31 May 2001), along with his two friends were attacked by a group of eight youths from gang 369, known as Salakau, as they were walking a ...

, maid abuser

Ng Hua Chye On 2 December 2001, a 19-year-old Indonesian maid, Muawanatul Chasanah, was found beaten to death in a house by the Bedok Reservoir, Singapore. Her killer was Ng Hua Chye, a tour guide and Chasanah's employer. Ng's wife, Tan Chai Hong, was a ...

who abused and killed his maid, drug trafficker Pang Siew Fum who was assisted by Cheong Chun Yin to import 2kg of heroin, fishmonger Lau Lee Peng who robbed and murdered his friend and fruit-seller Tan Eng Yan, kidnapper Tan Ping Koon who abducted a child for ransom, and the five gang members who were accused of murdering 19-year-old Republic Polytechnic student Darren Ng Wei Jie at Downtown East in 2010. He also represented convicted murderer

Mathavakannan Kalimuthu Mathavakannan Kalimuthu (Tamil language: மாதவக்கண்ணன் காளிமுத்து; born 10 May 1978) is an Indian Singaporean who, together with his two friends, murdered a gangster named Saravanan Michael Ramalingam ...

in his 1997 appeal and 1998 clemency plea, and successfully convinced

President of Singapore The president of Singapore is the head of state of the Republic of Singapore. The role of the president is to safeguard the reserves and the integrity of the public service. The presidency is largely ceremonial, with the Cabinet led by the prim ...

Ong Teng Cheong Ong Teng Cheong ( zh, c=王鼎昌, p=Wáng Dǐngchāng; 22 January 1936 – 8 February 2002) was a Singaporean politician who served as the fifth president of Singapore between 1993 and 1999. He was also the first elected president in Singapor ...

to grant then 19-year-old Mathavakannan

clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

and commute his

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed te ...

. Anandan also defended mechanic

Nadasan Chandra Secharan Ramapiram Kannickaisparry ( – 17 April 1995), also known as Ramipiram Kannickaisparry, was an Indian-born Singaporean woman who was found dead in a forested area of Sembawang on 17 April 1995. Ramapiram was last seen alive six hours before her ...

, who was charged with murdering his lover, and Anandan successfully convinced the Court of Appeal to overturn Nadasan's death sentence and issue him an

acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

on the grounds that he was not at the scene of crime and the prosecutors' weak evidence against him. At the time of his death, Subhas Anandan was the senior partner in law firm RHTLaw Taylor Wessing LLP and headed its department in criminal law. He was a founding member and the first president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore. He was also the president of Cuesports Singapore, the national sports association for billiards, snooker, and pool. Towards the end of his life, Anandan's health began to deteriorate and he died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

in January 2015. He was survived by his wife and son, Sujesh Anandan, who is also a lawyer.

Early life

Anandan was born on 25 December 1947 to Raman Anandan and Govindan Pushpanjaly, in Travanore-Cochin, (now

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

, India. When he was five months old, the family migrated from India to Singapore, where his father had found work as a clerk in the

British Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fra ...

. They lived in the staff quarters within the British naval base in

Sembawang Sembawang is a planning area and residential town located in the North Region of Singapore. Sembawang planning area is bordered by Simpang to the east, Mandai to the south, Yishun to the southeast, Woodlands to the west and the Straits of Joho ...

until his father retired in the early 1970s. Anandan attended primary and secondary school in the naval base, first at Admiralty Asian School and then Naval Base School, where he excelled academically. In 1963, after achieving a first grade in his Senior Cambridge (now

'O' Level O' Level were a British punk and indie band, founded in 1976 by Ed Ball with friends John and Gerard Bennett. The group's name refers to the 'O'-Level of the British General Certificate of Education. History Along with the early Television ...

) examinations, he went back India to study medicine in Madras (now

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

) 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 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 ...

in 1964. After completing his Higher School Certificate (now 'A' Level) examinations, he wanted to join the

police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

but eventually enrolled in the University of Singapore (now

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in th ...

) 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. He obtained his law degree in 1970 and went on to become to the protégé of Chan Sek Keong, then a senior partner at law firm Shook Lin & Bok and, later, a

Chief Justice of Singapore The chief justice of Singapore is the presiding member of the Supreme Court of Singapore. It is the highest post in the judicial system of Singapore, appointed by the president, chosen from the candidates recommended by the prime minister. The ...

.Yap, S. (30 June 2008). "''Soaring legal eagle''"

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

. Retrieved 29 January 2010.

Later years and career

In March 1976, Anandan was arrested by the police for suspected involvement in a secret society under the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act. He was released from remand and exonerated in November of the same year following an investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. Anandan started the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore in 2002, with the goal of raising the number of criminal lawyers in the country. In 2011, Anandan, alongside law practitioners including Rajan Menon, founded RHTLaw TaylorWessing and stayed on as one of its senior partners until his death. Anandan had started his practice handling mainly

civil Civil may refer to: *Civic virtue, or civility *Civil action, or lawsuit * Civil affairs *Civil and political rights *Civil disobedience *Civil engineering *Civil (journalism), a platform for independent journalism *Civilian, someone not a membe ...

, accident and

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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 Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

, domestic worker abuse,

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

and white-collar offences. Known for his sharp and stinging attacks in the courtroom, he was nicknamed "the Basher" 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". While Anandan 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. In 2013, Anandan was part of the 12-member steering committee to guide the development of the

Singapore University of Social Sciences School of Law The Singapore University of Social Sciences School of Law (SUSS School of Law) is an autonomous law school of Singapore University of Social Sciences. It was established in 2017, as Singapore's third law school after the NUS Faculty of Law and the ...

Personal life and death

Anandan first applied for

Singapore citizenship Singaporean nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Singapore nationality. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the Constitution of Singapore, which came into force on 9 August 1965. Individuals born to ...

in 1972, but was informed a decade later that his application had been turned down. He tried again 2002, and was then finally granted citizenship. Subhas Anandan was married with Vimala Kesavan. The couple had a son, Sujesh Anandan (born in 1990 or 1991), who also became a lawyer like his father. Sujesh was reportedly called to the Bar in early 2019. Two of Anandan's nephews, Sunil Sudheesan and Anand Nalachandran, were also lawyers. Of the two nephews, Sudheesan's mother is of Chinese descent. According to Anandan's book, ''The Best I Could'', former Solicitor-General Francis Seow owed Anandan S$25,000 since the 1980s, after Seow left the country when faced with income tax charges. Anandan was particularly passionate about big-capacity cars. 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 and

Jaguars The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the t ...

. Beside owning luxury cars, he liked collecting antique or miniature swords, sabres and ''

kris The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its disti ...

''. 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. An active sportsman in his youth, Anandan was taking 22 types of medication every day because of his deteriorating health in the later years up to his death. He had three heart attacks, and had also undergone a heart bypass and an

angioplasty Angioplasty, is also known as balloon angioplasty and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), is a minimally invasive endovascular procedure used to widen narrowed or obstructed arteries or veins, typically to treat arterial atherosclero ...

. He had also lost one

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; bloo ...

to cancer and was a diabetic. At around 2300 hours (GMT+8) on 7 January 2015, Anandan died while hospitalised at

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 ...

of complications from heart failure, which he was diagnosed with in 2014. His death triggered an outpouring of grief especially amongst members of the law industry in Singapore. Law Minister K. Shanmugam hailed Anandan as a "titan in criminal law" as well as a "legal legend", while

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 Vijaya Kumar Rajah (born 14 January 1957), better known as V. K. Rajah, is a Singaporean lawyer who was the eighth attorney-general of Singapore between 2014 and 2017 and a former judge of the Supreme Court. Early life Rajah was born in Singapo ...

lauded his "uncanny legal acumen". His funeral, which was attended by "hundreds", was held the next evening and Anandan's body was cremated with Hindu rites on the same day.

Legacy

Anandan was awarded the Legal Eagle Award of 2001 conferred by the Law Society of Singapore.Interview with Criminal Lawyer, Mr. Subhas Anandan
''Singapore Law Review''. Retrieved 14 July 2012. Anandan was honoured by the Association of Muslim Lawyers on 28 October 2014 for his substantial contributions towards the legal profession and being a champion of '' pro bono'' work for several decades. A tribute ceremony was held at the Supreme Court Auditorium and attended by some 400 members of the legal community, including Law Minister K. Shanmugam, former

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 f ...

S. R. Nathan Sellapan Ramanathan (; 3 July 1924 – 22 August 2016),. often known as S. R. Nathan, was a Singaporean politician who served as the sixth president of Singapore between 1999 and 2011. He was also the longest-serving president in Singapore's hi ...

and several judges. At the ceremony, the newly formed " Yellow Ribbon Fund Subhas Anandan Star Bursary Award" worth S$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. Anandan's 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. Anandan's second book, ''It's Easy To Cry'', was posthumously published on 15 September 2015.

References

Bibliography