Lunch in memory of late criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan

SINGAPORE - June 23 was the late criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan's happiest day of the year. It was the day his son, Sujesh, was born.

So on Tuesday, a lunch was held in memory of Mr Subhas at the Supreme Court. Mr Subhas died of heart failure in January at the age of 67.

The lunch was organised by the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Singapore, co-founded by Mr Subhas.

The association's acting president, Mr Sunil Sudheesan, who is also Mr Subhas' nephew, called for a minute of applause instead of a minute of silence for his late uncle.

But halfway through, he stopped and said to laughter from the crowd: "In Subhas' style, he would say, 20 seconds is enough."

More than 50 people from the legal fraternity attended the lunch, including Attorney-General V.K. Rajah, Judicial Commissioner (JC) See Kee Oon, Justice Lee Seiu Kin as well as Mr Subhas' long-time friends, lawyers Noor Marican and Amolat Singh.

Addressing them, Mr Sunil said: "All of you would have worked with Subhas in one way or another and touched his life... We hope to do this once a year, and to also continue his legacy to fight for the underprivileged."

JC See, who is the Presiding Judge of the State Courts, said: "Subhas really impressed me as someone who was always professional and very committed to his clients. He always gave his best. I have seen few criminal lawyers with the same level of commitment that Subhas had."

Senior Counsel Mavis Chionh, chief prosecutor at the Attorney-General's Chambers' Criminal Justice Division, added: "All of us prosecutors who have worked with Subhas would remember him as a man with a very big heart, who fought very hard to help his clients. We certainly admire him for that."

Lawyer Kesavan Nair, who is the nephew of Mr Subhas' wife Vimala, said that his aunt is coping well.

"Of course she misses him the most... the family misses him but all the memories are helping to comfort them," he said.

limyihan@sph.com.sg