A second scholarship will be available to law students in the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), thanks to a $200,000 donation from the estate of former Supreme Court judge Choor Singh.

Under the Choor Singh Study Award, $10,000 will be presented each year to up to two deserving candidates enrolled in either the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or the Juris Doctor (JD) programme in SUSS starting from next year.

The award is bond-free and will be available to Singapore citizens with an average monthly household income of no more than $4,300 or who can provide evidence of financial hardship.

Other eligibility criteria include acceptable academic results, involvement in social or community work and a likelihood of practising family or criminal law.

According to SUSS' press release, Justice Singh, who rose to the pinnacle of his profession after starting as a solicitor's clerk, was passionate about serving his community and especially sympathetic to educational causes.

He contributed to many Sikh educational charities and was a member of the Singapore Indian Education Fund Trust, which provides financial assistance to needy and deserving Indian students in Singapore. He died in March 2009 at the age of 98.

His son, Dr Daljeet Singh Sidhu, presented the cheque to the university's provost, Professor Tsui Kai Chong, yesterday.

Dr Singh said SUSS' dedication to training mid-career students in law resonated with him because his father could pursue his law studies only when he was in his 30s. Justice Singh also had to work to support a young family while he was studying.

"The study award was created in my father's memory to encourage mature students to pursue law," he said. "He would have been pleased to know that we're supporting both young and working adults in SUSS who need financial help to do this."

Prof Tsui said the university was honoured to be a recipient of the donation. He added: "This will benefit deserving law students and have a positive ripple effect on society when students graduate and serve as legal professionals."

Application for the award opens online in August.

The Choor Singh Study Award is the second scholarship open to SUSS law students.

The School of Law set up the Irene Tan Liang Kheng Scholarship Award after receiving a $2 million donation in January from the estate of the late Madam Irene Tan Liang Kheng.