The Prime Minister Office (PMO) has announced that Attorney-General, Mr V K Rajah S.C will be succeded by Mr Lucien Wong for a 3-year term with effect from 14 January 2017.
Mr Rajah was appointed Attorney-General on 25 June 2014 and his term will end on 14 Jan 2017 upon his reaching the retirement age of 60 years.
As a transitional arrangement, Mr Wong will be appointed Deputy Attorney-General with effect from 19 December 2016. When Mr Wong takes over as Attorney-General on 14 January 2017, Solicitor-General Mr Lionel Yee S.C. will be appointed a Deputy Attorney-General, in addition to Mr Tan Siong Thye S.C. The appointments have been made by the President, under the advice of the Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
In the statement by PMO, it is said that Mr Rajah, as the Public Prosecutor, broadened the prosecutorial philosophy of the Attorney-General’s Chambers and oversaw significant criminal cases, including the largest ever market-rigging securities case and the largest scale money-laundering case in Singapore.
Mr Rajah also established several inter-agency working groups to enhance existing legal processes, including one to review issues relating to youth justice in Singapore. Mr Rajah also introduced initiatives to improve institutional efficiency and strengthen specialist prosecutorial capabilities.
PMO statement also noted that under his leadership, the Attorney-General’s Chambers provided legal support for the formulation and implementation of the Government’s programmes and for the successful negotiation of significant international agreements. Mr Rajah is also credited for directing the legal work on Singapore’s negotiations with Malaysia on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail and the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System.
According to Allen & Gledhill LLP’s website, Mr Wong listed as its Chairman and Senior Partner, but local media reports that he is no longer chairing the firm. Member of Parliament, Edwin Tong currently is a partner of the firm, and Minister of Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, who was formerly a senior partner of the firm, had been colleagues with Mr Wong at a point of time.
Outside of his legal practice, Mr Wong also chairs the Maritime and Port Authority and the Board of Directors of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. He also sits on the Board of Trustees for the Singapore Business Federation and Boards of Directors for Temasek Holdings, Singapore Airlines and Singapore Press Holdings.
