Adrian Tan Gim Hai, 57, passed away on Saturday (8 July) after nearly a 1.5-year-long battle with cancer.
Perhaps you’ve heard of him; perhaps you haven’t. Regardless, here are ten things you should know about the esteemed “King of Singapore”.
1. Adrian Tan was Diagnosed with Cancer in March 2022
Adrian Tan first revealed his cancer diagnosis to the public in July last year in a LinkedIn post.
He shared how he started feeling ill in February 2022 before finally seeing a doctor a month later.
Unfortunately, after going for various tests, he was diagnosed with cancer. Following this, Adrian Tan immediately began a treatment regime involving chemotherapy, immunotherapy and hormone therapy.
It wasn’t until months later, in July 2022, that the lawyer decided to open up to the public about his condition.
Before the LinkedIn post, only his colleagues, the Law Society Council, his friends and family were aware of his condition.
2. Adrian Tan: The President of the Law Society
A few months before Adrian Tan received his cancer diagnosis, he was appointed the Law Society’s President.
Before he was appointed President, he served a one-year stint as the society’s treasurer in 2016 and the society’s vice president in 2017.
He had been a member of the Law Society since 2013.
Even after receiving his diagnosis, Tan continued carrying out his duties remotely as the Law Society’s President.
“I would fight cancer, fight my cases in court, and fight for lawyers as their President, until the clock runs out,” the 57-year-old shared.
3. Partner at Corporate Boutique Firm TSMP Law Corporation
Adrian Tan wore many hats. Not only was he the President of the Law Society, but he was also a partner at the corporate boutique firm TSMP Law Corporation.
The firm specialises in corporate and commercial law.
TSMP Law has since released a statement about the partner’s passing, describing Adrian Tan as “a wonderful colleague, a nurturing mentor and a loyal friend”.
“The legacy that he leaves behind is a testament to his unwavering dedication to the legal profession and his tireless commitment to promoting justice and fairness for all,” Stefanie Yuen Thio, TSMP Law’s joint managing partner, added.
4. Adrian Tan: The Author of “The Teenage Textbook”
Before embarking on his 31-year-long career, Adrian Tan also wore another hat. He was an author.
While studying at NUS Law, Adrian Tan wrote the iconic novels The Teenage Textbook and The Teenage Workbook.
You’re too young to be here if you’ve never heard of these books.
These novels sold over 50,000 copies, and The Teenage Textbook, which was published in 1988, was even ranked as one of the top 10 English Singapore books by The Business Times in 2015.
Other big names in Singapore’s literary scene, including Felix Cheong, have also praised Adrian Tan as one of SingLit’s “sharpest minds” and “wittiest voice”.
Better grab yourself a copy now if you’ve yet to read it.
5. “The Teenage Textbook” was Adapted into a Play, a Movie, a Musical & a TV Series
Not so much of a reader? You can still be wow-ed by Adrian Tan’s genius by watching alternative adaptations of his novel, The Teenage Textbook.
Yes, you read that right. The novel was so successful that it was later adapted into three other mediums—a play in 1997, a movie in 1998, a musical in 2017 and a TV series in 2021.
The 1998 film adaption topped Singapore’s box office for four weeks; that’s how good The Teenage Textbook is.
Move aside, Marvel.
6. Adrian Tan also Wrote a Chapter for “Eat Here Or Take Away”
Even decades after his first novel, it appears that Adrian Tan still has a knack for writing.
According to Goh Eck Kheng, founder of Landmark Books, Adrian Tan contributed a chapter for the book Eat Here Or Take Away even after his cancer diagnosis.
The book, commissioned by the Tan Tock Seng Hospital Community Fund, was about the uniquely Singaporean hawker culture.
The next time you feel like calling in sick for work, remember that Adrian Tan wrote a whole chapter of a book while battling cancer.
“He was his usual cheerful self, unconscious of his baldness,” Goh remarked about Tan.
Power lah.
7. Adrian Tan: The Advocate for Advocates
If there’s one thing you should know about the 57-year-old, he was highly respected in the legal fraternity.
In the words of Adrian Tan’s predecessor as Law Society’s President, 55-year-old Gregory Vijayendran, Adrian Tan was the “lawyer’s lawyer”.
Other members of the legal fraternity have echoed such a sentiment, with 67-year-old Amolat Singh, Tan’s friend of 25 years, comparing Tan to “a shepherd who looked after his flock” who “always defended the legal profession”.
Christine Low, a Law Society Council executive committee member, also shared that Tan always “defended us lawyers when criticism was inaccurately attributed to us”.
Aww.
8. Adrian Tan Pushed for Permitting Cats in HDB Flats
That’s far from all the advocacy that Adrian Tan was engaged in.
As President of the Law Society, Adrian Tan spoke about many issues, including Singapore’s anti-cat rule.
The lawyer was an advocate for permitting cats in HDB flats.
In a LinkedIn post, he explained the reasons behind his position, adding that if he were the “King of Singapore”, he would repeal the anti-cat rule.
Goody Feed’s Blue Cat approves of this LinkedIn post—it’s quite possibly the only good post on LinkedIn.
9. Adrian Tan was the Honorary Legal Counsel for the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped
If you thought that was the end of the “List of Things Adrian Tan has advocated for”, you must be dreaming.
Aside from cats in HDB flats, it was clear that Tan was passionate about several social issues.
The TSMP partner also served as the honorary legal counsel for the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped, where he advocated for the blind’s voting rights.
Yes, you read that right. Before Adrian Tan’s advocacy, the blind could not vote in Singapore.
It was only thanks to Adrian Tan’s efforts that, in the 2011 Presidential Elections, the blind voted for the first time in Singapore.
Alright, enough with the lawyer’s achievements—if we went through all of them, this list of facts would be endless.
The last fact you need to know about Adrian Tan is this: he was married without children.
The lawyer is survived by his wife, Angelina, who allegedly works in the Ministry of Defence.
Goody Feed expresses our deepest sympathies.