Late criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan lays the smack down on law folks via his book published posthumously

If you smell what Subhas Anandan is cooking.

Belmont Lay| September 30, 06:08 PM

Late criminal lawyer, justice advocate and all-round workaholic, Subhas Anandan, has ruffled some feathers within the Law establishment in Singapore.

He did this even though he is dead.

The veteran lawyer passed away in January this year at the age of 67 -- but not before completing his last book, It's Easy To Cry, by dictating chapters of it while undergoing kidney dialysis treatment last year.

According to The Straits Times report on Sept. 30, 2015, "Law Ministry takes issue with book by late lawyer Subhas Anandan":

The Law Ministry has said that certain accounts given in a new book released posthumously by top criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan differ "quite substantially" from those of the legal and government officials he was writing about.

[...]

Three in particular stand out for his opinions about Singapore's chief justices, attorneys-general and judges. Among other things, he questions the move to prosecute two high-profile civil servants for corruption and suggests they could have been dealt with by internal disciplinary process rather than "mud slinging in Court". One was acquitted and the other, convicted.

 

In response to the book's publication, the Ministry of Law has also released its statement, which is the most they would do to refute the contents of the book considering the circumstances:

“The late Mr Anandan has, in his book It’s Easy to Cry (published posthumously), set out his version of conversations and interactions he has had with several serving officers in the Judiciary, the Legal Service and the Government. The recollections of many of the officers differ, sometimes quite substantially, from the accounts that Mr Anandan has set out, about these conversations and interactions. The officers however have decided, out of respect to Mr Anandan’s memory, that it is not appropriate to set out their corrections to Mr Anandan’s account. For the same reason, it would not be appropriate to respond to Mr Anandan’s criticisms of these persons.”

 

It's Easy To Cry is available in bookstores.

An early indication that the book is going to be provocative can be found on the blurb on book's back that read: “In this book, I am sharing with you all my feelings very candidly about what I have gone through and practically baring my soul. Through these crises, I have learnt to cope with life better and face my greatest fears instead of rolling over and playing dead.”

 

Here are some of the less-than-flattering comments Subhas made about people within the law establishment:

Chief Justices

CJ Yong Pung How (1990 to 2006):

Source Source

“The problem with Yong Pung How was his attitude towards the accused person and counsel. His statements from the Bench could be hurting and sarcastic. He gave the impression that all accused persons who stood before him was guilty; otherwise they wouldn’t be there in the first place... Counsels who appeared before him were treated very shoddily, especially criminal lawyers.”

 

CJ Wee Chong Jin (1963 to 1990):

Source Source

“Most of his time was spent playing golf. I believed he loved golf more than law, so much so that there was a backlog of cases as far back as five to six years. Parties had to wait that long before they could hear their civil cases. It was worse for criminal cases as the accused persons had to stay in remand prison for as long as between five and seven years for their trial to be heard, and if they were acquitted for the offence, no compensation was paid for their time in prison. Such was the situation in the system that made many angry. The perception was that he didn’t seem to bother. In the end, when he was to retire, many said that it was high time that he left and a more efficient system be put in place.”

 

Attorney-Generals

Walter Woon (2008 to 2010):

Source Source

“In some ways, we were disappointed because we felt he was very hard on accused persons. As the AG, he didn’t have the same compassion as others had.”

 

Tan Boon Teik (1969 to 1992):

Source Source

“There was nothing outstanding about the man.”

 

H/T The Straits Times, The Middle Ground

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.