Retired judge Richard Magnus 'poured heart and soul' into public service responsibilities: PM Lee

SINGAPORE - Public Transport Council (PTC) chairman and retired senior district judge Richard Magnus "poured heart and soul" into the many public service responsibilities he accepted, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (March 15).

In a Facebook post, PM Lee said he was deeply saddened by the passing of Mr Magnus, who died of a heart attack on Monday. He was 77.

"He was a colleague and friend for over 40 years, ever since we served together in the Ministry of Defence in the early 1980s, he as director legal services and I in the general staff," said PM Lee.

The Prime Minister posted a picture of himself with Mr Magnus at the National Day Awards in November last year. Mr Magnus had received the Distinguished Service Order.

"He told me how much he enjoyed his public service, which gave him the opportunity to interact with a wide range of public officers and share his experience with a younger generation," said PM Lee.

Mr Magnus started out as a legal officer and rose to become the senior district judge helming the Subordinate Courts, now known as the State Courts.

He worked closely with then Chief Justice Yong Pung How to modernise and tighten up the Subordinate Courts, noted PM Lee.

"They transformed our judicial system into one widely seen as among the best in the world," he said.

After retiring from the judiciary in 2008, Mr Magnus went on to hold leadership roles in public service.

Besides chairing the PTC since 2014, he was the founding chairman of Temasek Foundation Cares since its inception in 2009, and deputy chairman of Temasek Foundation in 2020.

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

PM Lee said: "Richard accepted many public service responsibilities and poured heart and soul into them."

The Prime Minister noted that in chairing the PTC, Mr Magnus led major reviews of the fare formula and expanded public transport concession schemes.

"He reassured the public that fare increases would be fair and justified, and that public transport would always remain affordable," he added.

"In many different roles, Richard grew and stewarded our national institutions as Singapore grew and developed.

"He was principled, humble and warm-hearted, and touched the lives and hearts of countless Singaporeans.

"Richard will be deeply missed. I wish his family comfort in this time of loss and grief," said PM Lee.

Separately, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam lauded Mr Magnus as an "illustrious son of Singapore" for dedicating his entire adult life, including post retirement, to public service.

"I knew him from my days as a young lawyer, and had appeared before him on several occasions. As a judge, he was exceedingly kind and fair and didn't waste time," he said in a Facebook post.

Mr Shanmugam added that Mr Magnus had also served in various committees, panels and boards, including as a member of the Home Team Academy Advisory Panel from 2019 and as chairman of the Casino Regulatory Board from 2008 to 2015.

"He worked hard to ensure racial and religious harmony in Singapore, and was always a counsel of wisdom, good sense, a calming influence, when people around him got worried," said Mr Shanmugam.