PUBLISHED ONJuly 16, 2025 10:43 AMBYSean LerThree judicial commissioners will be appointed as judges of the High Court on Aug 1, while an existing Supreme Court judge will be reappointed as justice of the Court of Appeal for a year, said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Wednesday (July 16).
The Supreme Court comprises the Court of Appeal and the High Court.
Justice Steven Chong Horng Siong, 67, will be reappointed as a Justice of the Court of Appeal from Sept 23 when his three-year-term ends.
He specialises in several areas including arbitration, complex commercial cases, banking, securities, and shipping.
Justice Chong was appointed Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court on Oct 1, 2009, and judge of the High Court on June 1, 2010.
Between 2012 and 2014, he served as attorney-general and returned to the bench as High Court judge in June 2014, and was appointed as a judge of appeal (now known as justice of the Court of Appeal) in April 2017. He was reappointed as Justice of the Court of Appeal in September 2022.
Justice Chong chairs the Admiralty Court Users' Committee, the specialist accreditation scheme for shipping law and the working group of the Professional Conduct Council. He is also the Singapore Academy of Law's (SAL) vice-president and serves as a member of the rules committee.
The three newly-appointed High Court judges are: Judicial Commissioner Alex Wong Li Kok, Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan Pheng Wee, and Judicial Commissioner Kristy Tan. Their appointments take effect from Aug 1.
A judicial commissioner may exercise the powers and perform the functions of a High Court judge, and is appointed for a specific period by the President of Singapore.
Judicial Commissioner Alex Wong is highly regarded as a leading construction, energy and infrastructure practitioner in the region, according to the PMO.
In 2018, he was designated a senior accredited specialist for building and construction by SAL — the only transactional lawyer so designated by the Academy.
Since his appointment as judicial commissioner in 2023, he has handled civil matters such as building and construction, complex commercial cases and corporate insolvency.
Judicial Commissioner Christopher Tan concurrently held the positions of registrar of the State Courts and deputy presiding judge of the State Courts before he was appointed judicial commissioner in 2023.
A career legal service officer, he had served in various agencies including the Attorney-General's Chambers, Competition Commission of Singapore and the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Judicial Commissioner Tan's areas of focus include criminal trials, defamation and professional negligence.
Judicial Commissioner Kristy Tan was appointed a senior counsel in 2021 and later a judicial commissioner in 2023.
She was formerly an equity partner in Allen & Gledhill. After about 14 years of private practice, she joined the legal service and dealt with litigation matters involving civil, commercial, criminal and public law. She handles cases involving civil and commercial matters, trusts and shipping.
With the appointments, the Supreme Court will now have 36 judges — Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, three Justices of the Court of Appeal, four Judges of the Appellate Division, five senior judges, 21 judges of the High Court, two judicial commissioners and 24 international judges.
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