Republic of Singapore Navy welcomes new chief

Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng (left) handing over command to Rear-Admiral Lai Chung Han. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng (left) handing over command to Rear-Admiral Lai Chung Han. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

SINGAPORE - The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) on Friday welcomed Rear-Admiral (RADM) Lai Chung Han as its new chief.

RAdm Lai took over from outgoing Chief of Navy, RADM Ng Chee Peng at a change of command parade held at Changi Naval Base.

The change is part of the continuing process of leadership renewal in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), said the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) on Friday.

RADM Ng joined the SAF in 1988 and was awarded the President's Scholarship and SAF Overseas Scholarship in 1989. He has held several senior command and staff appointments in Mindef and the SAF, including, among others, Chief of Staff - Joint Staff, Chief of Staff - Naval Staff, RSN Fleet Commander, Director (Policy) in Mindef, commander of the RSN's First Flotilla, and commanding officer of the RSS Victory, and later the Missile Corvette Squadron.

RADM Lai is also a President's and SAF (Overseas) scholar. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) from Cambridge University, and a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University.

He has previously served as commanding officer of the RSS Valiant and 188 Squadron, as well as the navy's fleet commander, before becoming Deputy Secretary (Policy) at Mindef in September 2012. He received his first star at the age of 38, and was promoted to Rear-Admiral (two-star) on July 1.

The parade was witnessed by the Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Ng Chee Meng and attended by senior SAF officers and servicemen from the navy.

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