Yong Pung How

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yong.
Yong Pung How (杨邦孝)
In office
28 September 1990 – 10 April 2006
Preceded by Wee Chong Jin
Succeeded by Chan Sek Keong
Born 1926
Kuala Lumpur, Malaya
Spouse Yong Wei Woo
Children 1
Alma mater Downing College, Cambridge

Yong Pung How, DUT(First Class) (simplified Chinese: 杨邦孝; pinyin: Yáng Bāngxiào; born in 1926, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya). He was the former Chief Justice of Singapore, serving from 1990 to 2006. Prior to his judicial career, he was a lawyer, banker and senior government official.

Contents

[edit] Early career

A Hakka, Yong received early education at the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, and at the Downing College, Cambridge, where he developed close friendships with two of his Singaporean schoolmates, Mr Lee Kuan Yew and his wife, Kwa Geok Choo. He was made an Exhibitioner, and an Associate Fellow in his college years. Yong did exceptionally well, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Law Qualifying I: Class 1; Law Tropos I: Class 2, Division 2; Law Tropos II: Class 2, Division 1) in 1949, and with a Bachelor of Law (Class 2, Division 1) in 1950. In 1970 he furthered his education with the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Upon graduation, he was called to the English Bar by the Inner Temple in 1951. He returned to his hometown as an an Advocate and Solicitor of Malaya in 1952, practising law as a partner at Shook Lin & Bok, a law firm founded by his late father until his retirement from practice in 1970. During this period he also served in 1953 as the Arbitrator appointed by the Governor of Singapore to resolve the dispute between the Government and the General Clerical Services and Telecommunications workers. He was also admitted into the Singapore Bar in 1964[1] and appointed the role as Chairman of the Public Services Arbitration Tribunal in Malaya from 1955 to 1960, and as a Chairman of the Industrial Court in Malaysia between 1961 to 1967. He also had commercial powers invested upon him as as Chairman of the now-defunct Malaysia-Singapore Airlines between 1964 and 1969, and as Deputy Chairman, Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) between 1966 and 1971.

[edit] Career as a banker

In 1971, Yong switched from law to finance, and formed Singapore International Merchant Bankers Limited (SIMBL) and the Malaysian International Merchant Bankers (MIMB) in Malaysia serving as Chairman and Managing Director of both companies. At the same time he also served as a member of the Singapore Securities Industry Council from 1972 to 1981. He announced his retirement from the SIMBL and MIMB offices in 1976. That same year, Yong was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC).

He was seconded in 1982 by the Singapore Government to form and head the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore as well. His experience in commercial banking proved to be invaluable to GIC as he effectively re-organized and streamlined the use of Singapore's foreign reserves.
He was also made Deputy Chairman of the Currency Commissioners, and Alternate Governor for Singapore of the International Monetary Fund.[2]
In 1988, Yong became the first Chairman of the newly-formed Institute of Policy Studies, and established the Regional Speakers Programme which saw prominent speakers and intellectuals from around the region to share their understanding of the culture and politics of the countries in the region. This initiative greatly helped with the development of Singapore governance.[3]

In Yong returned to the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation in 1983, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer before returning to law as a judge in 1989.

[edit] Chief Justice

On 28 September 1990, Yong was appointed the Chief Justice of Singapore, replacing Wee Chong Jin. During his first speech at the opening of the legal year, he announced the abolition of the traditional wigs worn by judges and laywers, and the use of archaic terms of address for judges of the Supreme Court such as "My Lord" or "Your Lordship".[4] He also made the Singapore justice system move faster in processing cases during his tenure by introducing cutting-edge technology into the courtroom.

In 1991, there were about 2,000 lawsuits to be heard at the High Court. A lawsuit could take several years to be heard. Some measures were introduced to resolve the problems which he described as an "embarrassing" state of affairs. When he left, it took only six months for the High Court to conclude a hearing.[5]

However, the speed in which trials are conducted have led some critics to accuse Yong of convicting indiscriminately, leaving the burden of proof to the accused. As Chief Justice of Singapore, he was also known to impose punitive sentences to those appealing cases he deemed to be frivolous.[6][7]

Chief Justice Yong instituted the Night Courts in the Subordinate Courts, eliminating the need for members of the public to take time off work to attend court to answer to summonses for regulatory and minor offences. He also initiated the Justices' Law Clerk (JLC) scheme, under which top law graduates from leading universities in the United Kingdom and the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law were actively recruited to the Singapore Legal Service.[8]

He was succeeded by the Honourable Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong, formerly Attorney-General of Singapore.[5]

[edit] Honours

Yong was conferred conferred the Distinguished Service Order in 1989 and the the Order of Temasek (First Class) on 9 August 1999 - with a citation stating that “as Chief Justice since 28 September 1990, Justice Yong Pung How has made the Singapore Judiciary world class”.[5]

On 17 September 2001, Yong was awarded the honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the National University of Singapore (NUS), in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the Judiciary and the judicial system in Singapore. Yong was credited with introducing sweeping reforms in the legal service, enhancing the quality and efficiency of Singapore's judicial process and making the Singapore Judiciary world-class. Among his innovations was the introduction of case management which helped clear the backlog of cases and reduced the waiting time for the disposal of cases.[9]

On 14 July 2007, Yong was awarded the honorary Doctor of Laws degree by the Singapore Management University (SMU), in recognition of his contribution to Singapore's legal sector. Yong was appointed as the chairman of SMU School of Law's advisory board in March 2007.[10]

[edit] Personal life

Yong married his wife, Wei Woo who is a graduate from the London School of Economics and they have a daughter Yong Ying-I, who is a Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health.

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ 'Press Statement from Prime Minister's Office', Singapore Government Press Release No. 52/Aug 02-0/90/08/31
  2. ^ Advisory Board Chairman - Mr Yong Pung How. Singapore Management University. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  3. ^ 'Press Statement from Prime Minister's Office', Singapore Government Press Release No. 52/Aug 02-0/90/08/31
  4. ^ Lim, Audrey [et al.] (eds.) (2006). Speeches and Judgments of Chief Justice Yong Pung How. Singapore: SNP Reference. ISBN 9789812481290 (vol. 1). ISBN 9789812481306 (vol. 2).  2 vols. See also “Court dress”, Supreme Court Practice Directions (2007 Ed.), p. II-14, para. 17, <http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/data/doc/ManagePage/98/(03)%20(2007)%20%20Part%20II%20-%20General%20Matters.pdf>  and “Forms of address”, Supreme Court Practice Directions (2007 Ed.), p. II-15, para. 18, <http://app.supremecourt.gov.sg/data/doc/ManagePage/98/(03)%20(2007)%20%20Part%20II%20-%20General%20Matters.pdf> .
  5. ^ a b c CJ Yong Pung How to retire, Chan Sek Keong to succeed him. Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  6. ^ Singapore Law - News for 2001. The Straits Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  7. ^ Hell's kitchen for Singapore maids. The Age. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  8. ^ In Conversation With Chief Justice Yong Pung How. Subordinate Courts of Singapore. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  9. ^ Honorary Doctor of Laws conferred on Chief Justice Yong Pung How. National University of Singapore. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  10. ^ "Former Chief Justice awarded Honorary Degree by SMU", The Sunday Times, 2007-07-15. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Yong, Pung How (2006) Speeches and judgments of Chief Justice Yong Pung How. Singapore : SNP Reference.
Languages