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Choo Han Teck
Choo Han Teck (born 20 February 1954) was a Singaporean judge of the Supreme Court from 2003 to 2026. He was formerly a lawyer before his appointment to the court as a judge. It was revealed in 2021 that Choo was one of the defence lawyers representing Adrian Lim, the infamous Toa Payoh child killer who was executed in 1988 for charges of murdering a girl and boy as ritual sacrifices. In 1994, Choo also defended Phua Soy Boon, a jobless Singaporean who was hanged in 1995 for killing a moneylender.
Choo was first appointed Judicial Commissioner in 1995, and later appointed High Court Judge in January 2003. He has been re-appointed thrice as Judge of the High Court since his retirement and will continue to serve in this capacity till 20 February 2026. Choo was appointed President of the Military Court of Appeal of the Singapore Armed Forces in November 2004. He is said to be one of the more senior judges in the Court presiding over matrimonial matters, and "has played an important role" in that area.
He was born to a ship chandler and housewife. He earned his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Singapore in 1979, which was renamed the National University of Singapore a year later, before getting a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge in 1986.
Choo Han Teck, who then became Judicial Commissioner, presided the trial of Teo Kim Hong, a prostitute charged with stabbing her co-worker Ching Bee Ing to death in August 1995. After hearing the case for five days in January 1996, Choo found that Teo had intentionally stabbed Ching seven times, such that four of these injuries penetrated her heart and liver and sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. Choo therefore found Teo guilty of murder and sentenced her to death. Teo lost her appeal and she was hanged on 30 August 1996.
Choo heard the case of Abdul Nasir Amer Hamsah, who was accused of murdering a Japanese tourist named Fujii Isae during a robbery. Abdul Nasir committed the crime in 1994 with his friend Abdul Rahman Arshad at Oriental Hotel, where they were initially finding a job before deciding to rob two female members of a Japanese tour group. Both women, Fujii and her friend Takishita Miyoko, were assaulted before Fujii was accidentally stepped onto the face by Abdul Nasir, who lost his balance and fell during his escape from the hotel room, which left behind fatal facial bone fractures that caused suffocation leading to death. Abdul Nasir was only caught two years later and stood trial for murder in 1996, while Abdul Rahman, who was eventually found to be in prison for another crime, had ten more years added to his then 20-month sentence, as well as caning of 16 strokes for robbing the tourists.
Despite the prosecution's argument that Abdul Nasir intentionally stamped onto the tourist's face to kill her, Choo Han Teck accepted Abdul Nasir's defence that he accidentally stepped onto Fujii's face, as the physically big-sized Abdul Nasir's height of 1.8 m and weight of 76 kg, compared to Fujii Isae's height of 1.5 m and weight of 51 kg, made it possible for an accidental step being the causation of the injuries on the victim's face. Abdul Nasir was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment and 18 strokes of the cane for a lesser charge of robbery with hurt resulting in death. Choo's decision to acquit Abdul Nasir of murder was later affirmed by the Court of Appeal. In the aftermath, Abdul Nasir received an additional life sentence with caning of 12 strokes in a separate trial for an unrelated crime of kidnapping two police officers for ransom.
In May 1998, a 40-year-old Sikh prison warden named Jaranjeet Singh was attacked by two Indian men at a coffee shop in Geylang, and one of the attackers smashed a beer bottle and fatally slashed Jaranjeet's throat with the broken glass, causing Jaranjeet to bleed to death. 38-year-old S Nagarajan Kuppusamy, the man who directly killed Jaranjeet, was charged with murder and stood trial before Judicial Commissioner Choo Han Teck in October 1998.
During the same month of Nagarajan's trial, Choo judged that Nagarajan had violently murdered Jaranjeet over a minor dispute and described the attack as an "outright assault against a defenceless man". He also judged that Nagarajan had intentionally cut Jaranjeet's throat with the broken beer bottle, such that the injury deliberately caused was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. Therefore, Choo found Nagarajan guilty of murder and sentenced the former lorry driver to death. Nagarajan was hanged on 23 July 1999 after his appeal against Choo's verdict was rejected.
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Choo Han Teck
Choo Han Teck (born 20 February 1954) was a Singaporean judge of the Supreme Court from 2003 to 2026. He was formerly a lawyer before his appointment to the court as a judge. It was revealed in 2021 that Choo was one of the defence lawyers representing Adrian Lim, the infamous Toa Payoh child killer who was executed in 1988 for charges of murdering a girl and boy as ritual sacrifices. In 1994, Choo also defended Phua Soy Boon, a jobless Singaporean who was hanged in 1995 for killing a moneylender.
Choo was first appointed Judicial Commissioner in 1995, and later appointed High Court Judge in January 2003. He has been re-appointed thrice as Judge of the High Court since his retirement and will continue to serve in this capacity till 20 February 2026. Choo was appointed President of the Military Court of Appeal of the Singapore Armed Forces in November 2004. He is said to be one of the more senior judges in the Court presiding over matrimonial matters, and "has played an important role" in that area.
He was born to a ship chandler and housewife. He earned his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Singapore in 1979, which was renamed the National University of Singapore a year later, before getting a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge in 1986.
Choo Han Teck, who then became Judicial Commissioner, presided the trial of Teo Kim Hong, a prostitute charged with stabbing her co-worker Ching Bee Ing to death in August 1995. After hearing the case for five days in January 1996, Choo found that Teo had intentionally stabbed Ching seven times, such that four of these injuries penetrated her heart and liver and sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. Choo therefore found Teo guilty of murder and sentenced her to death. Teo lost her appeal and she was hanged on 30 August 1996.
Choo heard the case of Abdul Nasir Amer Hamsah, who was accused of murdering a Japanese tourist named Fujii Isae during a robbery. Abdul Nasir committed the crime in 1994 with his friend Abdul Rahman Arshad at Oriental Hotel, where they were initially finding a job before deciding to rob two female members of a Japanese tour group. Both women, Fujii and her friend Takishita Miyoko, were assaulted before Fujii was accidentally stepped onto the face by Abdul Nasir, who lost his balance and fell during his escape from the hotel room, which left behind fatal facial bone fractures that caused suffocation leading to death. Abdul Nasir was only caught two years later and stood trial for murder in 1996, while Abdul Rahman, who was eventually found to be in prison for another crime, had ten more years added to his then 20-month sentence, as well as caning of 16 strokes for robbing the tourists.
Despite the prosecution's argument that Abdul Nasir intentionally stamped onto the tourist's face to kill her, Choo Han Teck accepted Abdul Nasir's defence that he accidentally stepped onto Fujii's face, as the physically big-sized Abdul Nasir's height of 1.8 m and weight of 76 kg, compared to Fujii Isae's height of 1.5 m and weight of 51 kg, made it possible for an accidental step being the causation of the injuries on the victim's face. Abdul Nasir was sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment and 18 strokes of the cane for a lesser charge of robbery with hurt resulting in death. Choo's decision to acquit Abdul Nasir of murder was later affirmed by the Court of Appeal. In the aftermath, Abdul Nasir received an additional life sentence with caning of 12 strokes in a separate trial for an unrelated crime of kidnapping two police officers for ransom.
In May 1998, a 40-year-old Sikh prison warden named Jaranjeet Singh was attacked by two Indian men at a coffee shop in Geylang, and one of the attackers smashed a beer bottle and fatally slashed Jaranjeet's throat with the broken glass, causing Jaranjeet to bleed to death. 38-year-old S Nagarajan Kuppusamy, the man who directly killed Jaranjeet, was charged with murder and stood trial before Judicial Commissioner Choo Han Teck in October 1998.
During the same month of Nagarajan's trial, Choo judged that Nagarajan had violently murdered Jaranjeet over a minor dispute and described the attack as an "outright assault against a defenceless man". He also judged that Nagarajan had intentionally cut Jaranjeet's throat with the broken beer bottle, such that the injury deliberately caused was sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature. Therefore, Choo found Nagarajan guilty of murder and sentenced the former lorry driver to death. Nagarajan was hanged on 23 July 1999 after his appeal against Choo's verdict was rejected.