Media Release: Extension of Appointment of Supreme Court Judges

The President of the Republic of Singapore, in accordance with Article 95(2) of the Constitution, has extended the appointment of the following High Court Judges:

1. Justice Lee Seiu Kin (李兆坚法官) for a period of two years with effect from 30 Jan 2022;
2. Justice Choo Han Teck (朱汉德法官) for a period of two years with effect from 21 Feb 2022; and
3. Justice Hoong Seng Lei Vincent (洪承利法官) for a period of three years with effect from 12 Apr 2022

Justice Lee Seiu Kin

2.         Justice Lee was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 15 Oct 1997. He left the Supreme Court in Oct 2002 to assume the appointment of 2nd Solicitor-General before returning to the Bench as a High Court Judge on 11 Apr 2006. Justice Lee retired on 29 Jan 2019 and was re-appointed for a two-year term on 30 Jan 2019. His re-appointment was further extended for one more year in Jan 2021 and will expire on 29 Jan 2022. 

3.         Justice Lee’s areas of focus include construction and shipbuilding, intellectual property, employment and criminal matters. He is the Chairman of the Internal Security Department’s Advisory Board as well as the ASEAN Law Association (Singapore) and the Board of Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of SAL.

Justice Lee Seiu Kin

Justice Choo Han Teck

4.         Justice Choo was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 1 Apr 1995 and was elevated to Judge of the High Court on 2 Jan 2003. Justice Choo retired on 20 Feb 2019 and was re-appointed as High Court Judge for a two-year period. His re-appointment was subsequently extended for another year and his current term expires on 20 Feb 2022.

5.         Justice Choo’s areas of specialty include revenue law, employment issues, tort claims and criminal matters. In recent years, he has also dealt with family justice matters. Justice Choo has been the President of the Military Court of Appeal since Nov 2004 and a member of the SAL’s Publication Committee since 2006.

Justice Choo Han Teck

Justice Hoong Seng Lei Vincent

6.         Justice Hoong was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on 10 Apr 2019 and was elevated to Judge of the High Court on 3 Jan 2020. Justice Hoong’s appointment as a High Court Judge will be extended for a period of three years with effect from 12 Apr 2022 upon reaching his retirement age of 65.

7.         Justice Hoong’s main areas of focus have been in building and construction, shipbuilding, company, insolvency, trusts, shipping and insurance, tort claims as well as criminal cases. Justice Hoong was appointed the Presiding Judge of the State Courts and Deputy President, Industrial Arbitration Court on 1 Apr 2020. In addition, he chairs the Criminal Law Advisory Committee (Hearing), Criminal Legal Aid Scheme Steering Committee as well as The Community Justice Centre Limited.

Justice Hoong Seng Lei Vincent

8          With the above reappointments, the Supreme Court will have a total of 28 Judges (including the Chief Justice and four Justices of the Court of Appeal), one Judicial Commissioner, four Senior Judges and 18 International Judges.

17 JAN 2022

SUPREME COURT OF SINGAPORE