SINGAPORE: Mr Glenn Knight, the first director of the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), died on Wednesday (Feb 19) on a flight back to Singapore from Australia. He was 80.
A formidable figure in the legal profession in the 1970s and 80s, Mr Knight was a well-known prosecutor and became the director of the CAD when it was set up in 1984. The CAD is the principal white-collar crime investigation agency in Singapore.
A former colleague, Mr Edmond Pereira, described Mr Knight as a sharp prosecutor who was detailed, meticulous and “left no stones unturned”.
However, Mr Knight lost his job at the CAD in 1992 after he was convicted of attempted cheating and giving false information to secure a government car loan.
Mr Knight died on Wednesday morning on his flight back to Singapore, Mr Edmond Pereira told CNA.
Police on Wednesday said that they were alerted to the death on board a Scoot flight from Australia to Singapore on Wednesday at about 12.40am. The plane landed at about 3am.
Police officers boarded the aircraft on arrival, and found an 80-year-old man motionless in his seat, police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor and based on preliminary investigations, police do not suspect foul play.
Mr Knight was a widower and had no children.
Born in November 1944, Mr Knight joined the Singapore Legal Service in 1970 and rose through the ranks.
He was involved in some high-profile cases in the 1980s, including the prosecution of Adrian Lim, who murdered two children.
At the CAD, Mr Knight prosecuted key people in Pan-Electric Industries. The company collapsed having amassed huge debts of S$453 million owed to 35 banks and S$160 million worth of unfulfilled forward contracts.
The collapse resulted in the closure of the Singapore and Kuala Lumpur stock exchanges for days in order to contain the fallout.
THOROUGH AND STRICT
Mr Richard Pereira, who worked with Mr Knight at the CAD, said he was a “very quiet boss who was thorough and strict”.
“I found him to be compassionate as well. He always had a smile on his face and treated accused persons fairly,” added Mr Richard Pereira, who is now an independent security adviser in Indonesia.
The 76-year-old said Mr Knight was a great boss who never raised his voice and a “remarkable friend”.
But it all came to a sudden crash for the former CAD director in 1991, when he was arrested by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) for cheating offences.
He was convicted and sentenced to a day’s jail as well as a fine of S$10,000. Following his conviction, he was suspended from legal practice, then struck off the rolls in 1994.
Four years later, he was convicted of criminal breach of trust and again sentenced to a day’s jail and another S$10,000 fine.
Mr Edmond Pereira, a lawyer and long-time associate, said that this fall from grace “shattered him”.
For years he was not allowed to practise law and Mr Knight worked as a consultant for various companies.
Mr Knight’s biography The Prosecutor was published in 2012. In an interview that year, he described his lowest point as the years 2004 and 2005, when he lived in a one-room flat and earned “almost nothing”.
In 2007, he applied to be reinstated and began practising as a lawyer again in his early 60s.
Mr Knight said then to CNA: “I feel very happy, extremely grateful for this. It’s been … difficult but it was necessary.”
He practised in a few law firms, including Edmond Pereira Law Corporation for a number of years until around 2022. Mr Pereira said that Mr Knight mainly handled his own cases.
The 75-year-old executive director of the law firm told CNA that he had recently contacted Mr Knight, and they had made plans to catch up after Mr Knight’s trip to Australia.
The news of his death was quite surprising, as Mr Knight had some chronic conditions but had been well enough to travel, he said.
Recalling his time in the prosecution with Mr Knight, he said: “He’s detailed in his work, you know, and he was very particular … and he will leave no stone unturned.
“Once he gets his claws on a matter, he won’t let go. He will pursue it to the end.”
But after the corruption case, Mr Knight became a “pale shadow” of his former self, although in recent years, he had picked himself up again, Mr Edmond Pereira said.
His former CAD colleague Richard Pereira said that the last time he met Mr Knight was at the Singapore Cricket Club in October last year.
“When l met him, after about two years, l noticed that he was quite frail and walked slowly. However, he still had that smile on his face.
“Never complained of any issues with his health and attributed his condition to getting old,” he said.
Legal executive Ariffin Sha, 28, said that Mr Knight was his mentor from 2018. He described the former lawyer as “kind and brilliant” with an “indomitable spirit”.
“He had a strong sense of justice and faith,” he said.
“I’ve always enjoyed hearing stories about his famous legal battles and learning from him. He’s a legal titan and a true Singaporean legend.”
