Ang Cheng Hock, Hri Kumar Nair appointed Court of Appeal judges
Their appointments will take effect on Oct 1.
Justice Ang Cheng Hock and Justice Hri Kumar Nair will be appointed as Justices of the Court of Appeal with effect from Oct 1, 2025. (File photos: Singapore Courts)
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SINGAPORE: High Court judges Ang Cheng Hock and Hri Kumar Nair have been appointed Court of Appeal judges by the president, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a media release on Friday (Sep 19).
Their new appointments will take effect on Oct 1.
In 2009, at the age of 38, Mr Ang became one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Senior Counsel and became a High Court judge in August 2019.
In September 2022, he resigned as a judge to assume his role as a deputy attorney-general at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
"As deputy attorney-general, he oversaw the work of the AGC’s civil division, and their advocacy group," said the PMO.
"He also oversaw part of the work of the AGC’s criminal division, including several high-profile criminal prosecutions."
Among them was the trial of Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, who faced two charges of lying before a Committee of Privileges. Mr Ang led the prosecution team and in February, the Leader of the Opposition was fined S$7,000 (US$5,200) for each of the two charges.
After more than 2.5 years as a deputy attorney-general, Mr Ang was reappointed as a High Court judge on May 1.
Mr Nair, who was appointed Senior Counsel in 2008, is recognised by the legal fraternity as an expert in dispute resolution and arbitration, the PMO said.
He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC from 2006 to 2015 before retiring from politics before the General Election that year.
Appointed deputy attorney-general in March 2017, Mr Nair held that position before becoming a High Court judge in January 2023.
The current Court of Appeal justices are Steven Chong and Belinda Ang.
In July, Mr Chong was reappointed to the Court of Appeal for a further one-year term, beginning on Sep 23, while Ms Ang's term is set to end in April 2026.
The PMO also said on Friday that the president had made other appointments, including Low Siew Ling as judicial commissioner of the Supreme Court, and David John Goddard and Nigel Teare as international judges to the Supreme Court.
Ms Low’s appointment will take effect from Oct 1 for a period of two years, while Mr Goddard and Mr Teare will serve from Jan 5, 2026 to Jan 4, 2027.
Mr Goddard and Mr Teare will serve on the Singapore International Commercial Court Bench, a division of the general division of the High Court and part of the Supreme Court.
