President Tony Tan Keng Yam, seen here flanked by wife Mary and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, yesterday swore in new Judge of Appeal Steven Chong (second from right), 59, at a ceremony at the Istana. Two new High Court judges - Mr Tan Siong Thye (far left), 62, and Mr Kannan Ramesh, 51 - were also sworn in. Mr Chong was the Attorney-General for two years from 2012, before he was appointed a High Court judge in 2014. Mr Tan, who joined the legal service in 1979, became Singapore's first Deputy Attorney-General in 2015, while Mr Ramesh was in private practice for 24 years before his appointment as Judicial Commissioner in 2015. With their appointments, the Supreme Court, comprising the High Court and Court of Appeal, will have a total of 18 judges, including five Judges of Appeal and the Chief Justice.

Correction note: An earlier version of this article said that Mr Kannan Ramesh was in private practice for nine years before his appointment as Judicial Commissioner in 2015. It should be 24 years. We are sorry for the error.