Legal luminary Cashin dies at 89

Legal luminary Cashin dies at 89
Ex-Rugby Union president had colon cancer
By Carolyn Quek, Teh Joo Lin & Terrence Voon

ONE of Singapore’s longest-serving lawyers – who took on the inquiry into the 1983 Sentosa cable car tragedy and the sensational Adrian Lim murder trial – died early on Thursday morning after a long battle with cancer.

Mr Howard Edmund Cashin, 89, had practised law here for more than 50 years. So passionate was he about his profession that he spent almost every day in court, said his widow, Mrs Lily Cashin, 53.

Outside the courtroom, he pursued his other passions – rugby and cricket – and was the Singapore Rugby Union’s (SRU) president between 1977 and 1987.

Speaking to The Straits Times at their bungalow in Sarimbun, near Lim Chu Kang, Mrs Cashin said he retired from law practice after contracting colon cancer in 2003.

The cancer went into remission in 2007 after intensive treatment, but resurfaced late last year. Mr Cashin decided to forgo treatment and the cancer took its toll, but he remained mentally alert, even during his last days.

Though he was bedridden when his wife told him the English cricket team had won The Ashes test series, he cried: ‘Oh, that’s wonderful.’

Mr Cashin read law at Oxford and returned to Singapore after World War II. He spent many illustrious years at law firm Murphy & Dunbar.

Dr Myint Soe, 75, a partner with the firm for many years, said he was a meticulous lawyer who excelled at cross-examining witnesses, ‘especially those who were not telling the truth’.

High Court judge Choo Han Teck, 55, once Mr Cashin’s assistant, said he was effective in court because he understood human nature well.

‘He was able to get witnesses to say things they should say – not an easy thing to do in court,’ said Justice Choo.

While he was SRU president, Mr Cashin slapped a life ban on local rugby star Song Koon Poh for flouting the rules. Now 55, Mr Song, says he has no hard feelings towards the man who he feels took Singapore rugby to new heights. ‘He was also the only man to give local rugby a chance then. His passing is a great loss,’ said Mr Song.

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