Wee Chong Jin

黃宗仁1st Chief Justice of SingaporeIn office
5 January 1963 – 27 September 1990PresidentYusof Ishak
Benjamin Sheares
Devan Nair
Wee Kim WeePreceded byOffice establishedSucceeded byYong Pung HowHead, Presidential Council for Religious HarmonyIn office
1992–2005President of SingaporeIn office
28 March 1985 – 31 March 1985 Personal detailsBorn(1915-09-28)28 September 1915
Penang, British MalayaDied5 June 2005(2005-06-05) (aged 89)
SingaporeCause of deathLung and brain cancerResting placeMandai CrematoriumSpouseCecilia Mary HendersonChildren4Alma materSt John's College, CambridgeChinese nameTraditional Chinese黃宗仁Simplified Chinese黄宗仁JyutpingWong4 Zung1 Jan4

Wee Chong Jin DUBC (Chinese: 黄宗仁; pinyin: Huáng Zōngrén; Jyutping: Wong4 Zung1 Jan4; 28 September 1915 – 5 June 2005) was a Malayan-born Singaporean judge who served as chief justice of Singapore between 1963 and 1990.

Born in Penang, Malaysia, he was the first Asian lawyer to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Singapore. Having served as the chief justice of Singapore for 27 years, Wee was the longest-serving chief justice in the Commonwealth.

He was being appointed as chief justice of Singapore by former president of Singapore, Yusof Ishak.

Early life

Wee was born in Penang to parents Wee Gim Puay and Lim Paik Yew. He received his early education at the Penang Free School, and read law at St John's College, Cambridge. He was called to Bar at the Middle Temple in November 1938, and was admitted as an Advocate and Solicitor of Straits Settlements in 1940 upon returning to Penang.

Legal career

Wee practised law in Malaysia and Singapore from 1940 to 1957, with the firm Wee Swee Teow and Co.

Judicial career

Wee became the first Asian lawyer to be appointed to the position of a judge at the Supreme Court of Singapore on 15 August 1957, and subsequently appointed Chief Justice of Singapore on 5 January 1963. His appointment as Chief Justice marked the end of the century-old tradition of appointing British Chief Justices – the last of whom was Sir Alan Rose – for Singapore.^[1] Wee remained in the position for 27 years, making him the longest-serving chief justice not only in Singapore, but also in the Commonwealth.^[2]

Other roles

Wee also served as the first chairman of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights from 1973 and remained at its helm for 18 years. Wee assumed the post of the acting President of Singapore for two days when Devan Nair stepped down as President. Wee Chong Jin had also stepped in when Singapore's heads of state were either away or indisposed. He had stood in for Yusof Ishak when he was Yang di-Pertuan Negara and also for President Benjamin Sheares. He was the first president of the Singapore Academy of Law in 1988. In August 1991, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.^[3] In April 1992, Wee was made an Honorary Member and Fellow of the Singapore Academy of Law for life – the highest honour made to a person by the Academy. He served as a legal consultant of the Supreme Court of Singapore after his retirement on 27 September 1990, and was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004.

Personal life

Wee was also known for his love for sports, as he was an outstanding cricketer for Cambridge University in 1937 and a keen golfer serving as President of the Singapore Golf Association from 1962 to 2002.

Wee died on 5 June 2005 of complications from lung and brain cancer. A funeral was held at the Catholic Church of St. Ignatius at King's Road in Bukit Timah before his body was cremated at the Mandai Crematorium. Wee is survived by his wife, Cecilia Henderson, three sons, Laurence, John and Patrick, and one daughter, Veronica, and his grandchildren, Laura, Nicole, David and Michael.

Honour

Honour of Malaysia

•  Malaysia : Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (P.M.N.) – Tan Sri (1965)^[4]

See also

• Chief Justice of Singapore
• Judicial officers of the Republic of Singapore
• Judicial system of Singapore

References