SINGAPORE — Mr Tan Siong Thye will relinquish his post as Chief District Judge today to become a Judicial Commissioner in the Supreme Court, along with Allen & Gledhill Managing Partner Lee Kim Shin, who will start on Jan 2 next year.

Their one-year appointments to the Bench, which will have 15 judges and five judicial commissioners, were announced by the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday.

Mr Tan, 59, started his legal career as a Deputy Public Prosecutor in 1979. He headed the Commercial Affairs Department from 1999 to 2008 before becoming the top judge in the Subordinate Courts, recently hearing closely-watched cases, such as the sex-for-grades trial of former National University of Singapore law professor Tey Tsun Hang, and the Committee of Inquiry into the two major SMRT train disruptions in December 2011.

Mr Lee, 53, was admitted to the Bar in 1986. The corporate lawyer took over law firm Allen & Gledhill from long-time chief Lucien Wong last year. He is also Chairman of the Appeals Board constituted under the Private Education Act and a Board Member of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

The post of Chief District Judge will be filled by Senior District Judge See Kee Oon, who has headed the Subordinate Courts’ Criminal Justice Division since November 2009.

Mr Ong Hian Sun, who became a District Judge in May this year, will be the new head of the Criminal Justice Division, the Subordinate Courts said.