Woon Cheong Ming Walter
Encyclopedia
Walter Woon Cheong Ming is a professor of law with the National University of Singapore
(NUS) Faculty of Law
and the Dean of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education. He is an authority in the areas of company law
and securities regulation
. Educated at the National University of Singapore
and St. John's College
, Cambridge
, he joined the teaching staff of the NUS Faculty of Law in 1981 and later served as Sub-Dean and Vice-Dean. He was Legal Adviser to the President of Singapore
and Council of Presidential Advisors from 1995 to 1997, and was appointed a professor of law in 1999.
Woon was a Nominated Member of Parliament
between 1992 and 1996, during which time he became the first Member of Parliament
since 1965 to have a private member's bill
become a public law
in Singapore – the Maintenance of Parents Act, which was passed in 1995. Between 1997 and 2006, Woon served in a number of diplomatic capacities, including Ambassador to Germany (1998–2003) with an accreditation to Greece (2000–2003), and Ambassador to Belgium with concurrent accreditation to the European Union
, the Netherlands, Luxembourg
and the Holy See
. Woon was appointed Second Solicitor-General in 2006 and Solicitor-General the following year. He served as Attorney-General
between 2008 and 2010, and then returned to academia.
Woon, a Peranakan
, was born on 12 September 1956 in Singapore
to schoolteachers. He was a head prefect at Pasir Panjang Primary School (which his father became principal of years later) and a prefect while at Raffles Institution
. Following his A-levels
he was considering business administration, but ended up accepting a scholarship from DBS Bank
to do law instead. According to Woon in an April 2008 interview, "When I went for the scholarship interview, the interviewer said, 'We looked at your results and you look like you might be a lawyer; would you like to do law?' I said, 'Fine, if you want to give me the scholarship to do law, I'll do law'. I didn't plan to do law." He earned his Bachelor of Laws
(LL.B.) from the National University of Singapore
(NUS), graduating in 1981 with first class honours. He joined the teaching staff of the NUS Faculty of Law
that year, focusing his teaching and research on company law
and securities regulation
. In 1983 he graduated with a Master of Laws
(LL.M.) degree with first class honours from St. John's College
, Cambridge
, which he completed on a Commonwealth Academic Staff scholarship.
. He took the view that since the elected President should be politically neutral, Cabinet
members should only be eligible to stand for election five years after leaving politics.
Never afraid to speak his mind, in July 1991 in an interview by The Straits Times
Woon commented: "We effectively don't have a Constitution. We have a law that can be easily changed by Parliament, and by the party in power because the party is Parliament. The changes themselves might not be controversial, but it is unsettling how flexible the Constitution is, unlike, say, in the United States." In reply, Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong
pointed out that past changes to the Constitution had been made only with a two-thirds parliamentary majority and not done lightheartedly, as the intensive discussions and the two-year gestation period of the Elected President Bill proved. He affirmed that the Constitution had to evolve to reflect the changing needs of the people, and that it could not be assumed that the Constitution, drafted in 1965, would be the best Constitution for always and should be frozen in time. "So to say that because the Government in power changes the Constitution there is no Constitution is ridiculous, to put it mildly."
Woon was a Nominated Member of Parliament
(NMP) for three terms, from 7 September 1992 to 6 September 1994, from 7 September 1994 to 6 September 1996, and from 7 September 1996 till 15 December 1996 when Parliament was dissolved for the 1997 general election.
In 1992 at the start of the Government's annual Speak Mandarin Campaign
, the Minister for Information and the Arts
George Yeo
said in a newspaper article that the rising use of English by Chinese Singaporeans
was a "disturbing trend" as "[w]e become very exposed to Western cultural influences via books, magazines and films. Some influences are good. Others are harmful, especially to the structure of the family." This provoked Woon to respond that "[t]he subliminal message being sent is that those who speak English are dangerous to society and that the wider use of English threatens the social fabric of Singapore". He deplored this view because good values were neither Asian nor Western: "Why should we confine ourselves to one or the other? Singapore isn't a Western society. It isn't an Asian society. It is a cosmopolitan society." He noted that "[t]he emancipation of women
, the rule of law
, the equality of citizens irrespective of race, language or religion, the right to representative government
: These are values we have adopted from the 'decadent' West."
In September 1992, Woon was appointed to the select committee to review the Companies (Amendment) Bill (Bill No. 33/92) which proposed, among other things, that scrip
less trading in securities listed on the Stock Exchange of Singapore
be authorized so that share transfers can be made through computerized book entries
. He was a director of Intraco Ltd. (1989–2000) and Natsteel Ltd. (1997–2001), both listed on the Stock Exchange.
On 23 May 1994, Woon moved a private member's bill
which was eventually passed by Parliament on 2 November 1995 as the Maintenance of Parents Act. The Act, which entitles parents at least 60 years old and unable to maintain themselves adequately to apply to a tribunal for their children to be ordered to pay maintenance to them, was the first public law
that originated from a private member's bill since Singapore's independence in 1965. In its 5 December 1994 issue, Time
magazine picked Woon as one of 100 young world leaders, the only Singaporean to make the list.
From 1995 to 1997, Woon was Legal Adviser to the President of Singapore
and Council of Presidential Advisors. During this time, he represented the President as junior counsel before the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore Tribunal
in Constitutional Reference No. 1 of 1995, which involved the interpretation of provisions of the Constitution of Singapore
touching on the ability of Parliament
to curtail the President's discretionary powers.
, the Netherlands (from 22 October 2003), Luxembourg
and the Holy See
. In this capacity, he represented Singapore together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law
S. Jayakumar at the funeral mass
of Pope John Paul II
in the Vatican City
on 8 April 2005, believed to be the largest gathering of heads of state
in history. In 2006, the Vatican made Woon a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
, which is conferred on Roman Catholic men and women in recognition of their service to the Church, unusual labours, support of the Holy See, and the good example set in their communities and country.
. Between January 2007 and 31 March 2010, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Law of the Singapore Management University
. In February 2008, Woon was appointed by the Ministry of Finance
to chair a steering committee to review the Companies Act.
Woon became Attorney-General
on 11 April 2008. Three months into the job, he created some controversy when delivering an off-the-cuff speech at the launch of the Law Society of Singapore
's Public and International Law Committee. He said:
In mid-May, Woon commented that an acquitted
person may not be guilty in law, but guilty in fact. Two months later, without referring directly to these remarks, Judge of Appeal V.K. Rajah wrote in a judgment that such comments could undermine confidence in the courts' verdicts and the criminal justice system, which was based on the doctrine of the presumption of innocence
. The Minister for Law
K. Shanmugam
was asked in Parliament on 25 August 2008 to clarify the Attorney-General's comments. Shanmugam described the presumption of innocence as an "important and fundamental principle" which the Government
was "absolutely committed to upholding". Nonetheless, it was "entirely possible for a person to have committed acts which amount to a crime and yet, there may be no conviction", as the trial process was designed to prove guilt and not innocence. He added: "It is for the courts, and the courts alone, to exercise judicial power and decide the question of guilt, in a trial."
With effect from 20 May 2008, Woon was appointed a director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore
. He also served on the Presidential Council for Minority Rights
between 2008 and 2010.
Woon was the first Attorney-General in more than ten years to personally appear in court. On 28 July 2008, he argued before the Court of Appeal
that a woman who had manipulated her teenage lover into killing her husband should be given a life sentence. The Court held that a life sentence was inappropriate due to the defendant's psychiatric condition, and affirmed the nine-year jail term imposed by the High Court
. Woon elected to take proceedings against Tang Wee Sung, chairman of the company C.K. Tang which owns Tangs
department store, for the illegal purchase of a human organ – a kidney
– in the first case of its kind in Singapore. The decision to do so was criticized by Dr. Lee Wei Ling, Director of the National Neuroscience Institute
and daughter of Minister Mentor
and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
in an article published in The Straits Times on 5 September 2008. Woon replied, pointing out a number of misconceptions she held as to the facts and the law, and emphasizing that the prosecution had been brought as no one was above the law. Subsequently, in response to further comments by Dr. Lee, he wrote an extended article entitled "Wrong Facts and Faulty Logic" that appeared in The Straits Times on 18 September 2008.
He also prosecuted a number of contempt of court
cases, including suits against Dow Jones Publishing Company (Asia), Inc.
for material published in The Wall Street Journal Asia
; against US-based lawyer Gopalan Nair for comments on his blog; and against three Singapore Democratic Party
supporters, John Tan Liang Joo, Isrizal bin Mohamed Isa and Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi bin Sariman, who wore T-shirts bearing the image of a kangaroo dressed in a judge's gown outside the Supreme Court Building. On 15 March 2010, in one of his last cases before his term of office ended, he defended the constitutionality
of capital punishment in Singapore
before the Court of Appeal in an appeal by a man sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
At the third annual Singapore Children's Society
Lecture entitled "Changing Social Mores: Protecting Children from Themselves?" on 31 October 2009, Woon expressed the view that prosecuting teenagers from having underage sex with each other served little purpose. "It's basically kids having sex ... What do you do if the couple think they're in love? It's less easy if the girl consents. ... The judges cannot do very much by themselves. Sending them [the teenagers] to jail per se will not make them reflect on their lives. That is the last thing that is going to happen. But good or ill, this is the framework that we have."
Woon established a new division in the Attorney-General's Chambers for the prosecution of cases in the Subordinate Courts of Singapore
to enhance the development of criminal litigation skills, and recruited a number of young and talented lawyers into the Singapore Legal Service
. In 2008 he hosted the International Association of Prosecutors
Conference in Singapore. He also assisted in the setting up of the Centre for International Law
at NUS to improve international law
expertise in Singapore and the region. He was Singapore's alternate representative on the High Level Task Force for the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter
, a key constitutional document for ASEAN, which was signed in November 2007. Subsequently, he co-authored a book entitled The Making of the ASEAN Charter (2009).
Woon stepped down as Attorney-General on 10 April 2010 after a two-year term. In a media interview, he said that the post "was not a job I really wanted or enjoyed. I did it because I was asked to do the job. So I did my best under the circumstances with what I had." When asked whether he had "annoyed the powers that be", he said:
He subsequently clarified that when he said he had outstayed his welcome he had been "thinking more about the people I prosecuted rather than anything else", and that "I was kidding, I was being facetious".
Woon returned to academia at NUS
, and was appointed the first Dean of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE), a company incorporated by the Singapore Academy of Law
on 18 January 2010 to manage the postgraduate practical training of graduates from local and overseas universities seeking admission to the Singapore Bar, training contract
s, and continuing legal education for practising lawyers. He has denied any intention to enter politics – "Why would I leave one hot seat to jump into another hot seat? I've said for years that I would want to go back to my natural habitat eventually. Why wouldn't anyone believe me?" – although when asked if he had forever ruled out a political career, he said: "Forever is a long time but definitely not now." Subsequently, he reiterated in a Today
interview: "I am not a politician and I am not interested in politics and have no desire to go into politics. I do not know why people do not believe me when I say so. I have said it a thousand times but people do not seem to believe me."
Woon is currently Chairman of the Singapore International Law Society (since 2006), Judge Advocate General (since 2007), and President of the Goethe Institute Singapore
(since 2010).
called The Body in Question which he submitted for the 1985 National Short Story Writing Competition. In 2002, he published his first novel, The Advocate's Devil. This was followed three years later by The Devil to Pay (2005). Both books are crime novels
set in 1930s Singapore with Dennis Chiang, an English-educated Peranakan lawyer, as the protagonist
. Woon has said that fiction writing was "something I did on the side when I got tired of writing non-fiction". A reviewer of The Advocate's Devil commented: "That the author is a lawyer first and promising novelist second is most glaring in the language used in Devil. ... This must be the first made-in-Singapore whodunnit that needs to be read with a dictionary at hand." Although the protagonist Chiang's "view of human beings other than himself is patronising at best" and might leave readers with a "rather sour aftertaste", the novel's "light touches of romance and compassion do much to lift the storyline" and had "masterful pacing".
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National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
(NUS) Faculty of Law
National University of Singapore Faculty of Law
The National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law is the older of Singapore's two law schools. The Faculty was initially established as the Department of Law in the then University of Malaya in 1956, with the first batch of students matriculating in the following year...
and the Dean of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education. He is an authority in the areas of company law
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
and securities regulation
Financial regulation
Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the integrity of the financial system...
. Educated at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
and St. John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, he joined the teaching staff of the NUS Faculty of Law in 1981 and later served as Sub-Dean and Vice-Dean. He was Legal Adviser to the President of Singapore
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
and Council of Presidential Advisors from 1995 to 1997, and was appointed a professor of law in 1999.
Woon was a Nominated Member of Parliament
Nominated Member of Parliament
A Nominated Member of Parliament is a Member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed instead of being elected into office by the people, and who does not belong to any political party or represent any constituency. There are currently nine NMPs in Parliament...
between 1992 and 1996, during which time he became the first Member of Parliament
Members of the Singapore Parliament
The following is a historical list of members for the current and past ten Parliaments of Singapore:-See also:*1st Parliament of Singapore*2nd Parliament of Singapore*3rd Parliament of Singapore*4th Parliament of Singapore*5th Parliament of Singapore...
since 1965 to have a private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
become a public law
Public bill
In the legislative process, a public bill is a bill which proposes a law of general application throughout the jurisdiction in which it is proposed, and which if enacted will hence become a public law or public act....
in Singapore – the Maintenance of Parents Act, which was passed in 1995. Between 1997 and 2006, Woon served in a number of diplomatic capacities, including Ambassador to Germany (1998–2003) with an accreditation to Greece (2000–2003), and Ambassador to Belgium with concurrent accreditation to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the Netherlands, Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. Woon was appointed Second Solicitor-General in 2006 and Solicitor-General the following year. He served as Attorney-General
Attorney-General of Singapore
The Attorney-General of Singapore is the legal adviser to the government of the Republic of Singapore and its public prosecutor.The office was founded in 1867 as the chief legal officer of the British crown colony of the Straits Settlements. The current requirements for appointment as...
between 2008 and 2010, and then returned to academia.
Early life and education
Peranakan
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era....
, was born on 12 September 1956 in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
to schoolteachers. He was a head prefect at Pasir Panjang Primary School (which his father became principal of years later) and a prefect while at Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution
Raffles Institution , founded in 1823, is the oldest centre for pre-tertiary learning in Singapore. It is an independent school in Singapore providing secondary and pre-university education. RI consists of a boys-only secondary section , and a coeducational pre-university section...
. Following his A-levels
GCE Advanced Level
The Advanced Level General Certificate of Education, commonly referred to as an A-level, is a qualification offered by education institutions in England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Cameroon, and the Cayman Islands...
he was considering business administration, but ended up accepting a scholarship from DBS Bank
DBS Bank
DBS Bank Ltd is a bank incorporated in Singapore. It was previously known as The Development Bank of Singapore Limited, before the present name was adopted in July 2003 to reflect its changing role as a regional bank....
to do law instead. According to Woon in an April 2008 interview, "When I went for the scholarship interview, the interviewer said, 'We looked at your results and you look like you might be a lawyer; would you like to do law?' I said, 'Fine, if you want to give me the scholarship to do law, I'll do law'. I didn't plan to do law." He earned his Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
(LL.B.) from the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
(NUS), graduating in 1981 with first class honours. He joined the teaching staff of the NUS Faculty of Law
National University of Singapore Faculty of Law
The National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law is the older of Singapore's two law schools. The Faculty was initially established as the Department of Law in the then University of Malaya in 1956, with the first batch of students matriculating in the following year...
that year, focusing his teaching and research on company law
Corporate law
Corporate law is the study of how shareholders, directors, employees, creditors, and other stakeholders such as consumers, the community and the environment interact with one another. Corporate law is a part of a broader companies law...
and securities regulation
Financial regulation
Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the integrity of the financial system...
. In 1983 he graduated with a Master of Laws
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
(LL.M.) degree with first class honours from St. John's College
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, which he completed on a Commonwealth Academic Staff scholarship.
Academic
Woon was called to the Singapore Bar in 1985. The first edition of his book Company Law was published in 1988. The same year he became a Sub-Dean of the NUS Faculty of Law, then served as Vice-Dean from 1991 to 1995. On 1 February 1999 Woon was appointed a professor of law. In November 1990, Woon appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Amendment No. 3) Bill (Bill No. 23/90) to make representations on the proposed introduction of an elected President for SingaporePresidential elections in Singapore
Presidential elections in Singapore, in which the President of Singapore is directly elected by popular vote, were introduced through amendments to the Constitution of Singapore in 1991. Potential candidates for office have to fulfil stringent qualifications set out in the Constitution....
. He took the view that since the elected President should be politically neutral, Cabinet
Cabinet of Singapore
The Cabinet of Singapore forms the Government of Singapore together with the President of Singapore. It is led by the Prime Minister of Singapore who is the head of government...
members should only be eligible to stand for election five years after leaving politics.
Never afraid to speak his mind, in July 1991 in an interview by The Straits Times
The Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
Woon commented: "We effectively don't have a Constitution. We have a law that can be easily changed by Parliament, and by the party in power because the party is Parliament. The changes themselves might not be controversial, but it is unsettling how flexible the Constitution is, unlike, say, in the United States." In reply, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Singapore
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore is the head of the government of the Republic of Singapore. The President of Singapore appoints as Prime Minister a Member of Parliament who, in his opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of a majority of MPs.The office of Prime Minister...
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...
pointed out that past changes to the Constitution had been made only with a two-thirds parliamentary majority and not done lightheartedly, as the intensive discussions and the two-year gestation period of the Elected President Bill proved. He affirmed that the Constitution had to evolve to reflect the changing needs of the people, and that it could not be assumed that the Constitution, drafted in 1965, would be the best Constitution for always and should be frozen in time. "So to say that because the Government in power changes the Constitution there is no Constitution is ridiculous, to put it mildly."
Nominated Member of Parliament
Nominated Member of Parliament
A Nominated Member of Parliament is a Member of the Parliament of Singapore who is appointed instead of being elected into office by the people, and who does not belong to any political party or represent any constituency. There are currently nine NMPs in Parliament...
(NMP) for three terms, from 7 September 1992 to 6 September 1994, from 7 September 1994 to 6 September 1996, and from 7 September 1996 till 15 December 1996 when Parliament was dissolved for the 1997 general election.
In 1992 at the start of the Government's annual Speak Mandarin Campaign
Speak Mandarin Campaign
The Speak Mandarin Campaign is an initiative by the government of Singapore to encourage the Singaporean Chinese population to speak Mandarin, one of the four official languages of Singapore...
, the Minister for Information and the Arts
Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts is a ministry of the Government of Singapore...
George Yeo
George Yeo
George Yeo Yong-Boon is a former politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he served in the Cabinet from 1991 to 2011 as the Minister for Information and the Arts , Minister for Health , Minister for Trade and Industry and Minister for Foreign Affairs...
said in a newspaper article that the rising use of English by Chinese Singaporeans
Chinese in Singapore
Chinese Singaporeans are people of Chinese ethnicity who hold Singaporean nationality. As of 2010, Chinese Singaporeans constitute 74.1% of Singapore's resident population, or approximately three out of four Singaporeans, making them the largest ethnic group in Singapore...
was a "disturbing trend" as "[w]e become very exposed to Western cultural influences via books, magazines and films. Some influences are good. Others are harmful, especially to the structure of the family." This provoked Woon to respond that "[t]he subliminal message being sent is that those who speak English are dangerous to society and that the wider use of English threatens the social fabric of Singapore". He deplored this view because good values were neither Asian nor Western: "Why should we confine ourselves to one or the other? Singapore isn't a Western society. It isn't an Asian society. It is a cosmopolitan society." He noted that "[t]he emancipation of women
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, the rule of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
, the equality of citizens irrespective of race, language or religion, the right to representative government
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
: These are values we have adopted from the 'decadent' West."
In September 1992, Woon was appointed to the select committee to review the Companies (Amendment) Bill (Bill No. 33/92) which proposed, among other things, that scrip
Scrip
Scrip is an American term for any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long...
less trading in securities listed on the Stock Exchange of Singapore
Stock Exchange of Singapore
The Stock Exchange of Singapore was a stock exchange company in Singapore. It was formed in 1973, when the termination of currency interchangeability between Malaysia and Singapore, caused the Stock Exchange of Malaysia and Singapore to separate into the SES and Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Bhd...
be authorized so that share transfers can be made through computerized book entries
Book entry
Book entry is a system of tracking ownership of securities where no certificate is given to investors. In the case of book-entry-only issues, while investors do not receive certificates, a custodian holds one or more global certificates...
. He was a director of Intraco Ltd. (1989–2000) and Natsteel Ltd. (1997–2001), both listed on the Stock Exchange.
On 23 May 1994, Woon moved a private member's bill
Private Member's Bill
A member of parliament’s legislative motion, called a private member's bill or a member's bill in some parliaments, is a proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature. In most countries with a parliamentary system, most bills are proposed by the government, not by individual members of the...
which was eventually passed by Parliament on 2 November 1995 as the Maintenance of Parents Act. The Act, which entitles parents at least 60 years old and unable to maintain themselves adequately to apply to a tribunal for their children to be ordered to pay maintenance to them, was the first public law
Public bill
In the legislative process, a public bill is a bill which proposes a law of general application throughout the jurisdiction in which it is proposed, and which if enacted will hence become a public law or public act....
that originated from a private member's bill since Singapore's independence in 1965. In its 5 December 1994 issue, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine picked Woon as one of 100 young world leaders, the only Singaporean to make the list.
From 1995 to 1997, Woon was Legal Adviser to the President of Singapore
President of Singapore
The President of the Republic of Singapore is Singapore's head of state. In a Westminster parliamentary system, as which Singapore governs itself, the prime minister is the head of the government while the position of president is largely ceremonial. Before 1993, the President of Singapore was...
and Council of Presidential Advisors. During this time, he represented the President as junior counsel before the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore Tribunal
Constitution of the Republic of Singapore Tribunal
The Constitution of the Republic of Singapore Tribunal was established in 1994 pursuant to Article 100 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore...
in Constitutional Reference No. 1 of 1995, which involved the interpretation of provisions of the Constitution of Singapore
Constitution of Singapore
The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore and it is a codified constitution.The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament on the second and third readings . The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues...
touching on the ability of Parliament
Parliament of Singapore
The Parliament of the Republic of Singapore and the President jointly make up the legislature of Singapore. Parliament is unicameral and is made up of Members of Parliament who are elected, as well as Non-constituency Members of Parliament and Nominated Members of Parliament who are appointed...
to curtail the President's discretionary powers.
Diplomat
Between September 1997 and September 2006, Woon was seconded to the Foreign Service. He was Singapore's Ambassador to Germany from 6 February 1998 to July 2003, and was concurrently accredited to Greece from March 2000 to July 2003. He then served as Ambassador to Belgium (from 22 August 2003) with concurrent accreditation to the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, the Netherlands (from 22 October 2003), Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. In this capacity, he represented Singapore together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Law
Ministry of Law (Singapore)
The Ministry of Law is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for ensuring that Singapore's legal infrastructure is clear, efficacious and transparent...
S. Jayakumar at the funeral mass
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
in the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
on 8 April 2005, believed to be the largest gathering of heads of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
in history. In 2006, the Vatican made Woon a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
Order of St. Gregory the Great
The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great , was established on September 1, 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election.It is one of the five orders of knighthood of the Holy See...
, which is conferred on Roman Catholic men and women in recognition of their service to the Church, unusual labours, support of the Holy See, and the good example set in their communities and country.
Solicitor-General and Attorney-General
Woon was appointed to the post of Second Solicitor-General on 3 October 2006, and Solicitor-General on 2 July 2007. In 2007, he was also made a Senior CounselSenior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel is given to a senior barrister or advocate in some countries, typically equivalent to the title "Queen's Counsel" used in Commonwealth Realms...
. Between January 2007 and 31 March 2010, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the School of Law of the Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University
The Singapore Management University was officially incorporated on January 12, 2000, and was Singapore's first private university funded by the government...
. In February 2008, Woon was appointed by the Ministry of Finance
Ministry of Finance (Singapore)
The Ministry of Finance , is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for administering and regulating financial institutions and structures of the economy of Singapore. It is headed by the Minister for Finance...
to chair a steering committee to review the Companies Act.
Woon became Attorney-General
Attorney-General of Singapore
The Attorney-General of Singapore is the legal adviser to the government of the Republic of Singapore and its public prosecutor.The office was founded in 1867 as the chief legal officer of the British crown colony of the Straits Settlements. The current requirements for appointment as...
on 11 April 2008. Three months into the job, he created some controversy when delivering an off-the-cuff speech at the launch of the Law Society of Singapore
Law Society of Singapore
The Law Society of Singapore is the organisation that represents all lawyers in Singapore. It publishes the Law Gazette and operates a scheme for needy people to benefit from legal services free-of-charge. The Society also sets out rules for how lawyers should advertise. The Law Society is...
's Public and International Law Committee. He said:
In mid-May, Woon commented that an acquitted
Acquittal
In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi...
person may not be guilty in law, but guilty in fact. Two months later, without referring directly to these remarks, Judge of Appeal V.K. Rajah wrote in a judgment that such comments could undermine confidence in the courts' verdicts and the criminal justice system, which was based on the doctrine of the presumption of innocence
Presumption of innocence
The presumption of innocence, sometimes referred to by the Latin expression Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat, is the principle that one is considered innocent until proven guilty. Application of this principle is a legal right of the accused in a criminal trial, recognised in many...
. The Minister for Law
Ministry of Law (Singapore)
The Ministry of Law is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for ensuring that Singapore's legal infrastructure is clear, efficacious and transparent...
K. Shanmugam
K. Shanmugam
Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam better known as "K Shanmugam", is a Tamil Indian politician from Singapore. A member of the governing People's Action Party , he is currently the country's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Law...
was asked in Parliament on 25 August 2008 to clarify the Attorney-General's comments. Shanmugam described the presumption of innocence as an "important and fundamental principle" which the Government
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore. Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check...
was "absolutely committed to upholding". Nonetheless, it was "entirely possible for a person to have committed acts which amount to a crime and yet, there may be no conviction", as the trial process was designed to prove guilt and not innocence. He added: "It is for the courts, and the courts alone, to exercise judicial power and decide the question of guilt, in a trial."
With effect from 20 May 2008, Woon was appointed a director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore
Monetary Authority of Singapore
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is Singapore's central bank and financial regulatory authority...
. He also served on the Presidential Council for Minority Rights
Presidential Council for Minority Rights
The Presidential Council for Minority Rights is a non-elected government body in Singapore established in 1970, the main function of which is to scrutinize most of the bills passed by Parliament to ensure that they do not discriminate against any racial or religious community...
between 2008 and 2010.
Woon was the first Attorney-General in more than ten years to personally appear in court. On 28 July 2008, he argued before the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of Singapore
The Court of Appeal of the Republic of Singapore is the nation's highest court and its court of final appeal. It is the upper division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the lower being the High Court. The Court of Appeal consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore, who is the President of the...
that a woman who had manipulated her teenage lover into killing her husband should be given a life sentence. The Court held that a life sentence was inappropriate due to the defendant's psychiatric condition, and affirmed the nine-year jail term imposed by the High Court
High Court of Singapore
The High Court of the Republic of Singapore is the lower division of the Supreme Court of Singapore, the upper being the Court of Appeal. It consists of the Chief Justice of Singapore and the Judges of the High Court. Judicial Commissioners are often appointed to assist with the Court's caseload...
. Woon elected to take proceedings against Tang Wee Sung, chairman of the company C.K. Tang which owns Tangs
Tangs
Tangs is a company that specialises in the retail market, selling goods to customers. It is based in Singapore, and owns Singapore's oldest store which has become an icon of the Singapore retail market...
department store, for the illegal purchase of a human organ – a kidney
Kidney
The kidneys, organs with several functions, serve essential regulatory roles in most animals, including vertebrates and some invertebrates. They are essential in the urinary system and also serve homeostatic functions such as the regulation of electrolytes, maintenance of acid–base balance, and...
– in the first case of its kind in Singapore. The decision to do so was criticized by Dr. Lee Wei Ling, Director of the National Neuroscience Institute
National Neuroscience Institute
The National Neuroscience Institute is a medical institute located in Singapore specialising in the neurosciences. It is a national referral centre. There are over 20 subspecialties that are served.-History:...
and daughter of Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor
Minister Mentor is a Singapore cabinet position created in 2004 as part of a leadership transition.The newly appointed Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong , announced Lee Kuan Yew's new title together with the naming of his Cabinet on August 12, 2004...
and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
in an article published in The Straits Times on 5 September 2008. Woon replied, pointing out a number of misconceptions she held as to the facts and the law, and emphasizing that the prosecution had been brought as no one was above the law. Subsequently, in response to further comments by Dr. Lee, he wrote an extended article entitled "Wrong Facts and Faulty Logic" that appeared in The Straits Times on 18 September 2008.
He also prosecuted a number of contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
cases, including suits against Dow Jones Publishing Company (Asia), Inc.
Dow Jones & Company
Dow Jones & Company is an American publishing and financial information firm.The company was founded in 1882 by three reporters: Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. Like The New York Times and the Washington Post, the company was in recent years publicly traded but privately...
for material published in The Wall Street Journal Asia
The Wall Street Journal Asia
The Wall Street Journal Asia, a version of The Wall Street Journal provides news and analysis of global business developments for an Asian audience. It was founded in 1976 and is printed in nine Asian cities: Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo....
; against US-based lawyer Gopalan Nair for comments on his blog; and against three Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore Democratic Party
The Singapore Democratic Party is an opposition political party in Singapore.The party was founded in 1980 by Chiam See Tong, who as Secretary-General became the party's first Member of Parliament in 1984 when he was elected as MP for Potong Pasir...
supporters, John Tan Liang Joo, Isrizal bin Mohamed Isa and Muhammad Shafi'ie Syahmi bin Sariman, who wore T-shirts bearing the image of a kangaroo dressed in a judge's gown outside the Supreme Court Building. On 15 March 2010, in one of his last cases before his term of office ended, he defended the constitutionality
Constitution of Singapore
The Constitution of Singapore is the supreme law of Singapore and it is a codified constitution.The constitution cannot be amended without the support of more than two-thirds of the members of parliament on the second and third readings . The president may seek opinion on constitutional issues...
of capital punishment in Singapore
Capital punishment in Singapore
Capital punishment is a legal form of punishment in Singapore. The city-state had the highest per-capita execution rate in the world between 1994 and 1999, estimated by the United Nations to be 1.357 executions per hundred thousand of population during that period. The next highest was Turkmenistan...
before the Court of Appeal in an appeal by a man sentenced to death for drug trafficking.
At the third annual Singapore Children's Society
Singapore Children's Society
The Singapore Children's Society is a charitable organisation which looks after the welfare of children. It is committed to protect the physical, emotional and mental well-being of disadvantaged children.-History:...
Lecture entitled "Changing Social Mores: Protecting Children from Themselves?" on 31 October 2009, Woon expressed the view that prosecuting teenagers from having underage sex with each other served little purpose. "It's basically kids having sex ... What do you do if the couple think they're in love? It's less easy if the girl consents. ... The judges cannot do very much by themselves. Sending them [the teenagers] to jail per se will not make them reflect on their lives. That is the last thing that is going to happen. But good or ill, this is the framework that we have."
Woon established a new division in the Attorney-General's Chambers for the prosecution of cases in the Subordinate Courts of Singapore
Subordinate Courts of Singapore
The Subordinate Courts of Singapore is one of the two tiers of the court system in Singapore, the other tier being the Supreme Court. The Subordinate Courts comprise the District and Magistrate Courts—both of which oversee civil and criminal matters—as well as specialised family, juvenile,...
to enhance the development of criminal litigation skills, and recruited a number of young and talented lawyers into the Singapore Legal Service
Singapore Legal Service
The Singapore Legal Service is the collective body of lawyers who serve in the courts, the Attorney-General's Chambers, and the legal departments of various government ministries and statutory boards in Singapore...
. In 2008 he hosted the International Association of Prosecutors
International Association of Prosecutors
The International Association of Prosecutors, IAP - the only global non-governmental organisation of prosecutors, established by the United Nations in 1995, Vienna.Organisation includes about 200,000 members from over 120 states....
Conference in Singapore. He also assisted in the setting up of the Centre for International Law
Centre for International Law (CIL)
The Centre for International Law was established in 2009 at the National University of Singapore’s Bukit Timah Campus in response to the growing need for international law expertise and capacity building in the Asia-Pacific region. The founding director of the Centre is Associate Professor Robert...
at NUS to improve international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
expertise in Singapore and the region. He was Singapore's alternate representative on the High Level Task Force for the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter
ASEAN Charter
The ASEAN Charter is a constitution for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations . It was adopted at the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007....
, a key constitutional document for ASEAN, which was signed in November 2007. Subsequently, he co-authored a book entitled The Making of the ASEAN Charter (2009).
Woon stepped down as Attorney-General on 10 April 2010 after a two-year term. In a media interview, he said that the post "was not a job I really wanted or enjoyed. I did it because I was asked to do the job. So I did my best under the circumstances with what I had." When asked whether he had "annoyed the powers that be", he said:
He subsequently clarified that when he said he had outstayed his welcome he had been "thinking more about the people I prosecuted rather than anything else", and that "I was kidding, I was being facetious".
Return to academia
National University of Singapore Faculty of Law
The National University of Singapore, Faculty of Law is the older of Singapore's two law schools. The Faculty was initially established as the Department of Law in the then University of Malaya in 1956, with the first batch of students matriculating in the following year...
, and was appointed the first Dean of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE), a company incorporated by the Singapore Academy of Law
Singapore Academy of Law
The Singapore Academy of Law or is an organization in Singapore. This organization has nearly 8,000 members and provides legal services and information to Singapore's legal community....
on 18 January 2010 to manage the postgraduate practical training of graduates from local and overseas universities seeking admission to the Singapore Bar, training contract
Training contract
A training contract is a compulsory period of practical training in a law firm for law graduates before they can qualify as a solicitor in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Hong Kong...
s, and continuing legal education for practising lawyers. He has denied any intention to enter politics – "Why would I leave one hot seat to jump into another hot seat? I've said for years that I would want to go back to my natural habitat eventually. Why wouldn't anyone believe me?" – although when asked if he had forever ruled out a political career, he said: "Forever is a long time but definitely not now." Subsequently, he reiterated in a Today
Today (Singapore newspaper)
Today is a free English-language compact in Singapore published by government-owned MediaCorp print media arm. It is distributed from Monday to Sunday....
interview: "I am not a politician and I am not interested in politics and have no desire to go into politics. I do not know why people do not believe me when I say so. I have said it a thousand times but people do not seem to believe me."
Woon is currently Chairman of the Singapore International Law Society (since 2006), Judge Advocate General (since 2007), and President of the Goethe Institute Singapore
Goethe-Institut
The Goethe-Institut is a non-profit German cultural institution operational worldwide, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and relations. The Goethe-Institut also fosters knowledge about Germany by providing information on German...
(since 2010).
Fiction writing
Woon won a consolation prize for a short storyShort story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
called The Body in Question which he submitted for the 1985 National Short Story Writing Competition. In 2002, he published his first novel, The Advocate's Devil. This was followed three years later by The Devil to Pay (2005). Both books are crime novels
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
set in 1930s Singapore with Dennis Chiang, an English-educated Peranakan lawyer, as the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
. Woon has said that fiction writing was "something I did on the side when I got tired of writing non-fiction". A reviewer of The Advocate's Devil commented: "That the author is a lawyer first and promising novelist second is most glaring in the language used in Devil. ... This must be the first made-in-Singapore whodunnit that needs to be read with a dictionary at hand." Although the protagonist Chiang's "view of human beings other than himself is patronising at best" and might leave readers with a "rather sour aftertaste", the novel's "light touches of romance and compassion do much to lift the storyline" and had "masterful pacing".
Books
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