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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

The Judiciary today (December 22) announced the appointment of the Hon Mr Justice WOO Kwok-hing, Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, as Vice-President of the Court of Appeal of the High Court with effect from January 1, 2004.

Moreover, the Hon Mr Justice Azizul Rahman SUFFIAD, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, is appointed the Judge in charge of the Personal Injuries List; the Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG Kui-nang, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, is appointed the Probate Judge and the Hon Mr Justice Anselmo Francisco Trinidad REYES, Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court, is appointed the Judge in charge of the Construction and Arbitration List.

Their appointments will also take effect from January 1, 2004.

The biographical notes of the Judges are as follows:

The Hon Mr Justice WOO Kwok-hing

Mr Justice WOO was born in Hong Kong in 1946. He was called to the English Bar in 1969 and the Hong Kong Bar in 1970. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1987. He was in private practice from 1970 to 1992. He has been Head of Department of Law & Business of Hong Kong Shue Yan College since 1986. He was appointed Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 1992 and Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court in 2000.

The Hon Mr Justice Azizul Rahman SUFFIAD

Mr Justice SUFFIAD was born in Hong Kong in 1949. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1975 and was in private practice from 1975 to 1997. He sat as a Deputy Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court from 1997 to 1998 and was appointed Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 1998.

The Hon Mr Justice Andrew CHEUNG Kui-nang

Mr Justice CHEUNG was born in Hong Kong in 1961. He was called to the Hong Kong Bar in 1985 and was in private practice from 1986 to 2001. In 1995, he was admitted as Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore. He was appointed District Judge in 2001 and Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2003.

The Hon Mr Justice Anselmo Francisco Trinidad REYES

Mr Justice REYES was born in Manila in 1959. He was called to the English Bar in 1985 and the Hong Kong Bar in 1986. He was Law Lecturer of University of Hong Kong from 1986 to 1988 and was in private practice from 1989 to 2003. He was admitted as Advocate and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Singapore in 1995 and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2001. He was appointed Deputy Judge of the Court of First instance of the High Court for a period in 2002 and Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2003.

Ends/Monday, December 22, 2003

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