Former chief justice Yong Pung How dies aged 93

SINGAPORE — Former chief justice Yong Pung How died on Thursday (Jan 9) at the age of 93.

Mr Yong, whose career included stints as a banker and a university chancellor, served as Singapore's second chief justice from 1990 to 2006.

At his retirement, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law S Jayakumar paid tribute to Mr Yong in Parliament for building Singapore's "judiciary and legal system to vigilantly uphold the rule of law and administration of justice".

Noting Mr Yong's "lasting and outstanding contribution", the minister spoke of his "wide ranging reforms to build up the legal infrastructure and develop local jurisprudence relevant to Singapore’s context".

Among other contributions, Mr Yong "took a series of measures to clear the backlog of cases, streamlined the rules of court, and improved efficiency through extensive use of IT," said Mr Jayakumar, adding that "as a result of his leadership, we have today a judiciary that has a high standing internationally".

YONG PUNG HOW WAS A "SELFLESS TITAN": K SHANMUGAM

Minister for Law and Home Affairs K Shanmugam on Thursday paid tribute to Mr Yong in a Facebook post, hailing him as someone who was "sharp, immensely practical, and formidable to appear before".

"(Mr Yong) was a great man. A selfless titan, who dedicated himself to building up Singapore, and her institutions. His achievements are well recorded in multiple spheres, beyond the law," Mr Shanmugam said.

He wrote about his experiences with Mr Yong over the years and how he had introduced "close to 1,000 initiatives" in the former Subordinate Courts.

"His efforts contributed greatly to Singapore now being regarded as a trusted international legal centre, with a strong judiciary," he said.

"Our system is what it is today, because of his unparalleled vision and foresight."

Mr Yong was born on Apr 11, 1926 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the only son in a family of six children.

His late father, Yong Shook Lin, was a prominent lawyer and a founding member of the law firm Shook Lin & Bok in Kuala Lumpur. His mother was from Hong Kong.

He received his first years of formal education in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. At the age of 14, he completed his Cambridge School Certificate at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur.

He was too young to begin his tertiary education and the outbreak of the Second World War further delayed his studies.

After the war, Mr Yong read law at Downing College, Cambridge University, where he was an exhibitioner and later an associate fellow.

In 1949, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1951, he qualified as a barrister-at-law of the Inner Temple.

Returning to Kuala Lumpur, Mr Yong was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of Malaya in 1952. After being called to the Malayan Bar, he began his legal career with Shook Lin & Bok, focusing his practice mainly on criminal work.

Later, he became senior partner and the firm expanded rapidly under his leadership, especially in its corporate and commercial practice.

In 1964, Mr Yong was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of Singapore. He continued his practice in Singapore having set up the Singapore branch of Messrs Shook Lin & Bok.

Mr Yong left legal practice in 1971 and began his career in finance; he later went on to become CEO and chairman of OCBC Bank.

After nearly two decades away from the law, he returned as a Supreme Court judge at the age of 63. He was appointed as chief justice on Sep 28, 1990.

At Mr Yong's conferment of an honourary doctorate in 2001, NUS Assoc Prof Tan Cheng Han said he had "inspired and guided efforts to reform and reorganise the judiciary with the aim of building a responsive and efficient judicial system, without compromising the function of dispensing justice".

In 2010, he was appointed chancellor of the Singapore Management University. CNA

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