Singapore's former chief justice Yong Pung How dies, aged 93
In his 16 years as chief justice, Mr Yong Pung How introduced sweeping changes and harnessed technology to streamline court procedures. PHOTO: BT FILE
Former chief justice Yong Pung How, who implemented rigorous reforms to transform the Singapore court system into a model of efficiency, died on Thursday (Jan 9) morning, the Supreme Court has confirmed. He was 93. He is survived by his wife, Madam Cheang Wei-Woo, and their daughter, Ms Yong Ying-I, who is permanent secretary at the Ministry of Communications and Information.
Mr Yong and Madam Cheang, a graduate of the London School of Economics, met in 1950 while they were studying. They married in 1955. Mr Yong's work in the legal field started as early as 1953, when he was appointed by the Singapore Government as arbitrator to resolve a dispute between the Government and a union. The union was represented by a young lawyer, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who would go on to become the country's prime minister in 1959. Mr Yong was admitted to the Bar in 1964 and became a senior partner with the law firm of Shook Lin and Bok, until 1970. He then went into merchant banking and finance, ending up as chairman and chief executive of OCBC Bank. On a secondment from OCBC Bank from 1981 to 1983, Mr Yong helped form the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation - Singapore's sovereign wealth fund - and became its managing director. He later became the managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
When he took the helm at the judiciary in September 1990, there was a backlog of more than 2,000 cases. He introduced case management measures that cleared the backlog by the mid-1990s and reduced the time for cases to be concluded. In his 16 years as Singapore's top judge, Mr Yong introduced sweeping changes and harnessed technology to streamline court procedures.
'Truly this nation's loss': Chief Justice Menon pays tribute to former CJ Yong Pung How
Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon on Thursday (Jan 9) described the death of Singapore's former top judge Yong Pung How as "truly this nation's loss", saying that his 16-year tenure as chief justice was the "most consequential in our history".
Mr Yong, whose career included stints as a banker and a university chancellor, served as Singapore's second chief justice from 1990 to 2006. He died on Thursday aged 93. In a written statement on behalf of the Singapore judiciary, Chief Justice Menon called Mr Yong a "prodigiously talented individual" and a “foundational figure” in Singapore’s legal and national history. “He leaves behind a legacy that is nothing less than the modern and progressive judiciary and legal system that Singapore has today,” said Chief Justice Menon.
Mr Yong was born on Apr 11, 1926, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He spent almost two decades in legal practice before deciding to enter the finance industry in 1971. During that time, he became the first managing director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and later, the CEO and chairman of OCBC Bank. At the age of 63, Mr Yong returned to the law as a Supreme Court judge in 1989 and was appointed chief justice the following year. "Mr Yong was a prodigiously talented individual whose diverse gifts and interests brought him beyond the law into business, finance and public administration," Chief Justice Menon said in his statement. “In each field he entered, Mr Yong reached its pinnacle,” he added.
Yong Pung How
Born 11 April 1926 & died on 9 Jan 2020 at the age of 93
Yong Pung How (11 April 1926 – 9 January 2020) was a Malayan-born Singaporean judge who served as the second chief justice of Singapore between 1990 and 2006. After stepping down as chief justice, Yong served as the chancellor of the Singapore Management University between 2010 and 2015. The Yong Pung How School of Law at the Singapore Management University was named after him in 2021. He was appointed by former President Wee Kim Wee and took office on 28 September 1990.
Yong was born in Kuala Lumpur (then located in undivided Selangor state prior to 1974), to an ethnic Chinese family with Hakka ancestry from Dabu County, Guangdong, China. His father, Yong Shook Lin, was a lawyer who founded the law firm Shook Lin & Bok. After completing his early education at Victoria Institution, Yong went on to read law at Downing College, Cambridge University. While in Cambridge, he developed close friendships with Lee Kuan Yew and Kwa Geok Choo. Yong was made an Exhibitioner and an Associate Fellow in his college years. In 1949, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in law, and qualified as an Inner Temple lawyer in 1952. In 1970, Yong attended the six-week Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
Yong was called to the English Bar at the Inner Temple and he returned to Malaya as an advocate and solicitor in 1952, practising law as a partner at his father's law firm, Shook Lin & Bok. In 1954, Yong also served as the arbitrator appointed by Sir John Fearns Nicoll, the Governor of Singapore, to resolve the dispute between the Singapore government and the general clerical services and telecommunications workers.[8] He was also admitted into the Singapore Bar in 1964 and appointed to the role as Chairman of the Public Services Arbitration Tribunal in Malaya from 1954 to 1962, and as a Chairman of the Industrial Court in Malaysia between 1964 and 1967. Yong also had commercial powers invested upon him as Chairman of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines between 1964 and 1969, and as Deputy Chairman of Maybank between 1966 and 1972.
