Former Singapore chief justice Yong Pung How, 93, dies

SINGAPORE — Yong Pung How, independent Singapore’s second Chief Justice, has died. He was 93.

CJ Yong leaves behind a wife and daughter.

He was known for his reforms that enhanced the efficiency of the Singapore courts and earned a reputation for being tough.

In a Facebook post on Thursday (9 January), Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam praised the former chief justice as a “great” and “selfless” man who dedicated himself to building up Singapore, and her institutions.

“CJ Yong shook the Bar out of its lethargy and modernised it. And he transformed our judiciary, through a relentless push for progress and excellence - within a decade of taking office, he introduced close to 1,000 initiatives in the then-Subordinate Courts!”

The minister added, “His efforts contributed greatly to Singapore now being regarded as a trusted international legal centre, with a strong judiciary. Our system is what it is today, because of his unparalleled vision and foresight.”

Paying his tribute to CJ Yong in a condolence letter, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called him “one of Singapore’s finest sons”.

“Mr Yong’s reforms immensely strengthened our Judiciary, and the rule of law in Singapore,” said Lee. Singapore’s legal profession and society owes CJ Yong an “immense debt of gratitude” for his role in tightening case management and dealing firmly with time wastage in trials.

CJ Yong was also a “treasured family friend” who knew Lee’s late father Lee Kuan Yew as students in Cambridge, he added.

In a statement, Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon called his predecessor as a “foundational figure” whose legacy is the modern and progressive judiciary and legal system that Singapore has today.

Among other things, said CJ Menon, he introduced the system of pre-trial conferences, streamlined and simplified court procedures and established the Night Courts. “In successfully modernising the justice system and expeditiously clearing the backlog (of outstanding cases), Mr Yong’s tenure as Chief Justice perhaps stands as the most consequential in our history.”

A long and illustrious career

According to the Supreme Court website, CJ Yong was born on 11 April 1926 in Kuala Lumpur. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cambridge University in 1949 and qualified as a barrister-at-law of the Inner Temple in 1951.

CJ Yong was admitted as an advocate and solicitor in the Federation of Malaya in 1952 and in Singapore in 1964. He was a partner at Shook Lin & Bok, his father’s law firm, from 1952 to 1970.

He was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1989 and was ultimately elevated to head the judiciary in 1990 as the Chief Justice of Singapore.

Recalling his past interactions with the former chief justice at the start of his legal career, veteran lawyer Shashi Nathan, 52, told Yahoo News Singapore that it was “daunting” to appear before CJ Yong as a young lawyer in the 1990s, but that the ex-CJ had always treated him well. “He doesn’t suffer fools so if you get it wrong, he’d let you know quite quickly. Or if he clearly thinks that you have no case at all, he will be quite dismissive. But generally he had a very dry humour, and sometimes the humour (was) not fully appreciated.”

Nathan added, “When he first became Chief Justice, there was a huge backlog of cases and sometimes the way he sped up the system and got things moving may not have been the most popular, but it was the right thing to do.”

He added, “What he did was to improve the administration of justice in Singapore and I don’t think anybody can take that away from him. ”

CJ Yong retired in 2006 at the age of 80.

In a long career spanning half a century, his appointments included managing director of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation from 1981 to 1983, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore from 1982 to 1983, and deputy chairman of Singapore Press Holdings from 1984 to 1989.

Additional reporting by Koh Wan Ting

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