SINGAPORE: Justice Christopher Tan Pheng Wee has been appointed as Presiding Judge of the State Courts with effect from Jan 1 next year, said Singapore Courts (SG Courts) on Wednesday (Oct 1).

He will be taking over from Justice Vincent Hoong Seng Lei.

As Presiding Judge of the State Courts, Justice Tan will have overall responsibility for its leadership and management. He was appointed to the role by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, said SG Courts in a media release.

Justice Tan has presided over the trial of Ng Yu Zhi, the businessman accused of masterminding an alleged nickel investment fraud involving almost S$1.5 billion.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (1st Class Honours) from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1998 and obtained a Master of Laws from Harvard University in 2003.

He has held numerous postings in the legal service, working in agencies including the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Competition Commission of Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Supreme Court and State Courts.

Justice Tan held the positions of Registrar of the State Courts and Deputy Presiding Judge of the State Courts concurrently before being appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court in October 2023.

A Presiding Judge of the State Courts must be a Supreme Court judge or judicial commissioner.

Justice Tan was also appointed a High Court judge in August this year, focusing on cases in building and construction, shipbuilding, finance, securities, banking and complex commercial cases.

His other focus areas include company, insolvency, trusts, medical negligence tort claims, defamation, professional negligence, statutory torts and criminal trials.

He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2011.

JUSTICE VINCENT HOONG

Justice Hoong will end his tenure as Presiding Judge of the State Courts on Dec 31, after holding the position since April 2020, said SG Courts. His appointment as a judge of the High Court will also end on the same date.

Justice Hoong graduated from NUS with a Bachelor of Laws in 1982 and joined the Singapore Legal Service in 1984.

He was posted to the then Subordinate Courts as a magistrate.

In 1986, he held the appointment of assistant registrar in the Supreme Court before returning to the Subordin...