Public Transport Council chairman Richard Magnus dies

[SINGAPORE] Chairman of the Public Transport Council (PTC) and retired senior district judge Richard Magnus, who spent more than 50 years in public service, died on Monday (Mar 14).

His son Keith told The Straits Times: "Our family grieves the loss of a loving husband, wonderful father and devoted grandfather. He lived his life with integrity, purpose, dignity, service, honour and the highest set of moral values. He was a good friend to many from all stations of life and a loyal servant of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he loved and has now been reunited with."

The elder Magnus was also founding chairman of Temasek Foundation Cares and deputy chairman of Temasek Foundation.

For his contributions to 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.

He started as a legal officer during Singapore's early days of independence, then moved to the judiciary and rose to become the top judge at the Subordinate Courts, now known as the State Courts.

He played a key role in clearing the heavy backlog of cases there, and presided over several high-profile cases. These included the 1995 case of Barings trader Nick Leeson, whom he jailed 61/2 years for fraud and forgery.

He has headed committees of inquiry over the years, such as the Sembawang Shipyard fire in 1992, the collapse of part of Nicoll Highway in 2004, and the SingHealth data breach in 2018.

After retiring from the bench in 2008, he went on to other high-profile roles. Among others, he was the founding chairman of the Casino Regulatory Authority, and was appointed chairman of the PTC in May 2014.

THE STRAITS TIMES