Retired Supreme Court Justice and former chairman of the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB) Sinnathamby Rajendran died of pneumonia on June 18. He was 85.
A venerable figure in Singapore’s legal and religious communities, Mr Rajendran’s career began in the legal sector in 1962 as a state counsel and deputy public prosecutor with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
He soon advanced to become a magistrate in 1963 and a district judge in 1966. By 1977, he had joined the private sector, becoming a partner at Khattar Wong & Partners.
Appointed a judge of the High Court in 1991, Mr Rajendran would spend over a decade on the Supreme court bench.
Chairman of K&L Gates Straits Law LLC M. Rajaram, who appeared as a lawyer before Justice Rajendran in court, described him as a kind-hearted man of few words.
“It’s definitely a loss to the community,” said Mr Rajaram.
Mr Rajendran studied at the University of Singapore, now known as the National University of Singapore, where he forged a lifelong friendship with Mr S. Chandra Das, who is currently Singapore’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.
“We used to travel to Malaysia a lot to watch football matches,” Mr Chandra Das said.
“He lived a good and full life.”
After retiring from the judiciary, Mr Rajendran assumed the role of HEB chairman in 2005, encouraged by Mr Chandra Das and the late President S.R. Nathan.
Mr R. Jayachandran, who was appointed HEB’s chairperson after Mr Rajendran, said that he brought fresh perspectives and sound legal strength to HEB’s governance and temple management.
“He led the temple and HEB Ashram committees to function fairly independently without deviating from the set policies,” said Mr Jayachandran.
“Interactions between HEB and Singapore ministries strengthened considerably during his tenure as the chairman.”
In recognition of his significant contributions, Mr Rajendran was awarded the Public Service Star by the government in 2011.
Mr Rajendran was cremated on June 19 after a funeral service.
