Two new senior counsel announced by Chief Justice at opening of legal year
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The two new senior counsel appointed at the start of the new legal year are Mr Wong Woon Kwong (left) and Mr Kelvin Poon.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
SINGAPORE - Though he was not the most studious among his peers in law school, Mr Wong Woon Kwong has gone on to prosecute high-profile cases, including that of Malaysian drug trafficker Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam.
On Monday, the 40-year-old senior director at the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) crime division was one of two new senior counsel announced by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon at the opening of the legal year.
The other was Mr Kelvin Poon Kin Mun, deputy managing partner and head of international arbitration at law firm Rajah & Tann Singapore.
They join an elite group of lawyers recognised for possessing an outstanding ability as advocates, extensive knowledge of the law, and the highest professional standing.
They have the right to suffix the initials “SC” to their names. With the two new appointments, Singapore now has 98 senior counsel among 6,273 legal practitioners.
Speaking to the media ahead of the opening of the legal year, Mr Wong said of his time at the National University of Singapore: “There are different types of people in law school: There are those who are very studious – and they’re the great students – and I wasn’t a great student.
“I would be hanging out in the lounge and playing computer games and pool with my friends. So, not the most studious or ambitious person then. But I always had a sense of what I wanted to do, which was some form of advocacy.”
He went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Law (Honours) degree in 2007 and entered the legal practice with Baker & McKenzie Wong & Leow, specialising in intellectual property, before he became a deputy public prosecutor in 2009.
He is currently a senior director in the sex crimes cluster of the AGC’s crime division and deputy head of the organisation’s advocacy group. He will be appointed deputy chief prosecutor on April 1.
Mr Wong supervises a team of prosecutors and leads prosecutions and appeals for crimes such as serious sexual crimes.
A case that has left an impression on Mr Wong was Nagaenthran’s. He was sentenced to death in 2010 for importing 42.72g of heroin the year before in a bundle strapped to his thigh.
The case gained international prominence, with headlines focusing on the offender’s alleged intellectual disability.
On dealing with criticism, Mr Wong said that as long as he knows what he is doing is right and is guided by the right principles, he tries not to let anything else affect how he feels about the case and how he feels about himself.
“I don’t go on Facebook to look at all the comments, I don’t think that is going to be a very healthy way of living my life,” added the married father of three sons, aged five, four and two.
Mr Wong Woon Kwong (left) and Mr Kelvin Poon pictured at the Supreme Court on Jan 9, 2023.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
For Mr Poon, 47, a memorable case was that involving dieting pill Slim 10.
Singaporean TV personality Andrea De Cruz, who nearly died of liver failure after taking slimming pills, sued the manufacturer in 2002 for damages and the cost of a transplant operation.
It was Mr Poon’s first case in the High Court. It garnered much media attention and, as a young lawyer, he said, it made him think that being a lawyer was something he enjoyed doing and could do well.
Mr Poon, who is now a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the selection committee of the International Chamber of Commerce’s Singapore Arbitration Group, said he had originally wanted to become a teacher.
But he chose to enrol in law school while doing his basic military training in the army, as he was able to get two days off from training for an interview and written test.
Now as a senior lawyer, a big part of Mr Poon’s work involves helping younger lawyers in an environment that he said is quite different from when he was growing up.
“With the advent of technology which is supposed to help us, it’s become actually quite difficult for young lawyers to absorb everything – everything happens so quickly. So I try my best to spend as much time as I can to guide young lawyers through not just their work, but their careers as well,” said Mr Poon, who is married with a 17-year-old son and three daughters aged 11 to 15.
