Appointments to the Supreme Court Bench (Feb 2018)

The President of the Republic of Singapore, on the advice of the Prime Minister has appointed Mr Tan Puay Boon (陈佩文), Ms Mavis Chionh (蒋诗琦) and Mr Ang Cheng Hock (洪清福) as Judicial Commissioners of the Supreme Court of Singapore under Article 95(4) (a) of the Constitution.

The appointments of Mr Tan and Ms Chionh will take effect on 12 March 2018 for a period of 3 years while that of Mr Ang will take effect on 14 May 2018 for a period of 18 months till 13 November 2019.

The swearing-in ceremony for the appointments of Mr Tan and Ms Chionh will take place on 16 March 2018 at the Istana while Mr Ang will be sworn in on 17 May 2018.

Mr Tan Puay Boon

Mr Tan Puay Boon, 62, has over 30 years of experience in the Singapore Legal Service (both on and off the Bench). He joined the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) as a State Counsel in 1987 and was posted to the Supreme Court as a Senior Assistant Registrar from 1991 to 1995. He was a District Judge of the then Subordinate Courts (now the State Courts) from 1995 to 2006, where he dealt with a range of cases covering civil, criminal and family law matters.

In January 2007, Mr Tan was appointed Director of the Legal Aid Bureau, Ministry of Law. He was, concurrently, the Chief Information Officer of the Ministry from June 2013 to April 2015. He returned to the State Courts in April 2015 and has been the Principal District Judge of the Civil Justice Division since.

Mr Tan was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2014.

Ms Mavis Chionh 

Ms Mavis Chionh, 48, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Jurisprudence (1st Class Honours) from the University of Oxford and a Master of Laws (Chinese Law) from the National University of Singapore (NUS). She joined the Legal Service in 1991. She was appointed a Senior Counsel in 2015 and received the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in the same year.

Ms Chionh spent close to 24 years in the Courts and in the AGC. She had served as a Chief Prosecutor in AGC’s Financial and Technology Crime Division (formerly known as the Economic Crimes and Governance Division) and Criminal Justice Division. She is currently 2nd Solicitor-General at the AGC.

Ms Chionh had also served in a number of postings within the Singapore Legal Service such as the then Subordinate Courts, the Civil Division of the AGC, and the Insolvency & Public Trustee’s Office.

Mr Ang Cheng Hock

Mr Ang, 47, graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (1st Class Honours) from the NUS in 1995 and a Master of Laws from Yale Law School in 1998. He served as a Justices’ Law Clerk in the Supreme Court in 1996 and 1997. He was called to the Singapore Bar in 1996 and admitted as an Attorney & Counsellor at Law in the state of New York in 1999.

Mr Ang was appointed Senior Counsel in 2009, at the age of 38. He is currently a partner in Allen & Gledhill, and a member of its Litigation and Dispute Resolution department. His main areas of practice include civil and commercial litigation, international arbitration and corporate-related disputes such as shareholders’ disputes, breaches of directors’ duties, securities-related and banking litigation, defamation and professional liability. Mr Ang had also appeared as counsel in insolvency related litigation, shipping disputes and intellectual property disputes.

With the above appointments, the Supreme Court will have a total of 21 Judges (including four Judges of Appeal and the Chief Justice), seven Judicial Commissioners, four Senior Judges and 15 International Judges.

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PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
12 FEBRUARY 2018