COVER STORY
EDMOND PEREIRA Law ’76
T
he early ’70s was an era of rapid growth in Singapore, marked by the manufacturing boom and proliferation of foreign capital. Law graduate Edmond Pereira had big dreams. After obtaining his degree from the University of Singapore in 1976, he applied to join the Foreign Service. “I had great aspirations then of being a diplomat, one who would wine and dine at the United Nations, in the UK, and elsewhere in Europe,” he recalls of his young self. Instead, he was called in for an interview with the Legal Services Commission (LSC), during which he was chided by then-Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin, who asked the wet-behindthe-ears lawyer why he had not applied to join the legal service. CJ Wee, who was also the LSC Chairman at that time, reminded Mr Pereira of his National Service obligations, which he had yet to fulfill. So Mr Pereira joined the Ministry of Defence as a legal officer, embarking on what has become a solid career in the law. After two years with Mindef, Mr Pereira was posted to the AttorneyGeneral’s Chambers — the key legal advisor to the government — where he served as Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel for six years. He established his own practice in 1992. Today, Mr Pereira, 62, who won the Law Society of Singapore’s first Legal Eagle Award in 1998, is highly regarded as a criminal lawyer. His eldest daughter (Mr Pereira has four children) is currently doing her bar examinations in London. In the early ‘70s, the Law Faculty
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ALUMNUS
admitted just over 100 students each year, compared with more than 200 today. Graduating as a lawyer at that time was prestigious, he says. But the university at Bukit Timah — the Law Faculty has since returned there after more than two decades at the Kent Ridge campus — was far from swanky. Mr Pereira recalls attending lessons held in Nissen huts: prefabricated military-style steel structures with curved roofs. Still, the atmosphere was cosy and friendly, and the proximity of the various faculties created a close-knit community, says Mr Pereira, who represented the university in intervarsity debates and athletics. “I had very fulfilling and eventful undergraduate years, where strong bonds of friendship were developed.” He is still in touch with his peers from the Law Faculty, including former Nominated Member of Parliament Chandra Mohan Nair, Senior Counsel Deborah Barker, and District Judges Roy Neighbour, Low Wee Ping and Hamidah Ibrahim.
Law
1976
Medicine ’84
A
s an NUS Medical undergraduate during the early 1980s, plastic surgeon Dr Woffles Wu frequented discos, spent weekends in car workshops with fellow sports car fanatics, and still found the time to paint as well as sing in the Medical School band. “It was the disco era,” says the 51-yearold, recalling his visits to “hot” nightspots like The Club and Chinoiserie, “a time of bell bottoms, psychedelic prints and tightfitting V-shaped shirts.” But as hard as he partied, Dr Wu was dead serious when it came to work. As a houseman, he often toiled until the wee hours of the morning, surviving on just one or two hours of sleep. There were only four public hospitals in Singapore during that period, and the 1980s was a time of rapid growth. Hospitals were often operating at full capacity to cope with the rising number of patients from the newly-created housing estates. “The work culture was different then,” recalls Dr Wu, who has two children. “At that time, we had to look after an entire ward. Now, doctors and nurses are given just a portion of a ward to look after. We worked really hard then, but nobody complained. “We all adapted, learnt to cope with stress… I think the doctors who came out of that ‘fire’ were much ‘harder’ and better.” Dr Wu started out in Pediatrics
“The medical training we received in those years was among the best you could get anywhere in the world,” he says. “Some of us were offered scholarships overseas but we decided to stay in Singapore. You get to see a different spectrum of diseases [studying in Singapore] that are more relevant to practising here. “The medical faculty was a tightly-knit community, and my undergraduate life was very full and fulfilling. I would do it all again if I had to.”
“The medical faculty was a tightly-knit community, and my undergraduate life was very full and fulfilling.”
“I had eventful undergraduate years, where strong bonds of friendship were developed.” Over the years, Mr Pereira has taken on numerous high-profile civil and criminal cases, one of the most prominent being the grisly “body parts murders” — Briton John Martin Scripps killed and dismembered three tourists — that gripped Singapore in 1995. He was also involved in Singapore’s biggest bank fraud case to date, in which an Asia-Pacific Breweries finance manager swindled banks out of $117 million. Mr Pereira grew up greatly influenced by lawyers. He was a regular visitor at the home of the late Justice Denis D’Cotta, his classmate’s father, who was a High Court judge from 1970
WOFFLES WU
before getting his surgical degree which then enabled him to practise plastic surgery. He says he found it difficult to treat children with terminal diseases. “You see them every week and you develop an attachment and empathy for them. Then six months later, they die. It was depressing,” he says. “I felt that plastics suited my temperament better. It is a different way of helping children, such as those born with congenital deformities. To be able to restore some normality to their faces and their lives is greatly satisfying.” Dr Wu remembers fondly his early days as a doctor at the former Toa Payoh Hospital. “It had a very nice spirit and all the doctors knew one another. It was smaller, there was
to 1981. The late Minister for Law and National Development E.W. Barker was a close family friend and a great source of inspiration. “Hearing them talk about their youth, their experiences as lawyers and in the Court encouraged and inspired me,” says Mr Pereira. “I wanted to be a criminal lawyer who could make a difference. “I feel I can help people who are treated unjustly, uphold the rights of individuals, be a guardian of the rights of the citizenry. The cut and thrust of court work excites me.”
more interaction and you learnt more. Those were the days when we really looked forward to going to work.” He moved to Singapore General Hospital in 1988, where he worked as a plastic surgeon for 12 years before setting up his own practice. In 1990, Dr Wu also won the Young Surgeon of the Year award for his groundbreaking research on nasal anatomy. Dr Wu believes that his NUS education has played a significant part in his career. His varsity mates include cardiologist Michael Lim and Ting Choon Meng, inventor of a patented cardiac watch.
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JAN-MAR 2012
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