About T. S. Sinnathuray
Thirugnana Sampanthar Sinnathuray (22 September 1930 – 18 January 2016), known professionally as T. S. Sinnathuray and to his friends as Sam Sinnathuray, was a judge of the High Court of Singapore. Educated at University College London and called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, he practised for a few years in a law firm before beginning a career with the Singapore Legal Service, serving with the Attorney-General's Chambers as Crown Counsel and deputy public prosecutor (1960–1963), and senior state counsel (1966–1967); with the Subordinate Courts as a magistrate (1956–1959), first district judge (1967–1970), and senior district judge (1971–1978); and with the Supreme Court as deputy registrar and sheriff (1959–1960), and registrar (1963–1966). In 1978 he was elevated to the office of Judge of the High Court of Singapore, and served until his retirement in 1997. Notable cases judged by Sinnathuray included the Toa Payoh ritual murders trial in 1983, the 1988 legal challenge by the Asian Wall Street Journal against the Government's move to restrict its circulation for having engaged in the domestic politics of Singapore, and the trial of the serial murderer John Martin Scripps in 1995. In 1986 a commission of inquiry chaired by Sinnathuray found that allegations by opposition politician J. B. Jeyaretnam that the Government had interfered with the subordinate judiciary were unfounded. Sinnathuray was one of two foreign members of the Royal Tribunal, a panel of six judges convened by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia to investigate alleged misdemeanours of Tun Salleh Abas, Malaysia's Lord President of the Supreme Court, in 1988. Sinnathuray was the first non-European to act as the president of the Singapore Cricket Club (1976–1978). Following his retirement from the bench he pursued his interest in numismatics, becoming the chairman and chief executive officer of Mavin International Pte. Ltd., an auction company specialising in rare coins and banknotes. For his judicial service, Sinnathuray was conferred the Bintang Bakti Masyarakat (B.B.M.; Public Service Star) at the National Day Awards in 1997.
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