Retired Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin re-appointed Senior Judge
Recently retired Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin (pictured) has been appointed a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court along with three others, announced the Supreme Court on Friday (Dec 22). TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — Recently retired Judge of Appeal Chao Hick Tin has been appointed a Senior Judge of the Supreme Court along with three others, announced the Supreme Court on Friday (Dec 22).
Justice Chao, who had spent more than 50 years in public service, began his career as a state counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) in 1967 and rose up the ranks.
In 1999, he became a Judge of Appeal and, in 2006, assumed the position of Attorney-General. He returned to the Bench as Judge of Appeal in 2008 and retired on Sept 28 this year when he turned 75. His new appointment is for a period of three years.
The legal fraternity had paid tribute to him the day before he retired in a rare formal ceremony called a valedictory reference.
It was only the second time the ceremony was accorded to a judge leaving the Bench - the first was held in 1990 for retiring Chief Justice Wee Chong Jin.
The fluently bilingual judge had travelled to places including Peru after he retired, Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported last month.
Justice Andrew Ang, Justice Tan Lee Meng and Justice Lai Siu Chiu were also reappointed Senior Judges for a period of three years.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held on Jan 8 next year at the Istana.
Starting out as a lecturer at the University of Singapore’s (now the National University of Singapore) law faculty in 1972, Justice Ang joined law firm Lee & Lee in 1974 and became a partner the year after.
In 2004, he was appointed Judicial Commissioner and, subsequently, a High Court Judge. He retired in 2014 but returned to the Bench as a Senior Judge in 2015.
As for Justice Tan, who was dean of the law faculty from 1987 to 1992, he joined the bench as a Judicial Commissioner in 1997 and was appointed a Judge in the same year. He stepped down in 2013 but later became a Senior Judge in 2015.
Justice Lai was the first female Judicial Commissioner when she was appointed to the post in 1991. She became the first female Judge of the Supreme Court in 1994. Prior to that, she was a lawyer in the private practice.
Two other Senior Judges – Justice Chan Sek Keong and Justice Kan Ting Chiu – will complete their tenures on Jan 4 next year. Expressing his appreciation, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon said both had served “with distinction and made significant contributions”.
