Judicial Appointments
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The following is issued on behalf of the Judiciary:

     The Judiciary today (September 24) announced 25 judicial appointments covering the High Court, the District Court and the Magistrates' Courts.

     The appointments include one Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court, six Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court; one Principal Family Court Judge; eleven District Judges; three Principal Magistrates; and three Magistrates.  All appointments are made by the Chief Executive on the recommendation of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission.  They will take effect from September 28, 2009, except that of His Honour Judge AU Hing-cheung, which will be effective from December 1, 2009.

Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court
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     The Honourable Madam Justice Susan KWAN Shuk-hing is appointed as Justice of Appeal of the Court of Appeal of the High Court.  

Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court
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     His Honour Judge Anthony TO Kwai-fung, His Honour Judge Peter John LINE, Her Honour Judge Maggie POON Man-kay, His Honour Judge Derek PANG Wai-cheong, His Honour Judge Colin Richard MACKINTOSH and His Honour Judge AU Hing-cheung are appointed as Judges of the Court of First Instance of the High Court.  

Principal Family Court Judge
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     Her Honour Judge Bebe CHU Pui-ying is appointed as Principal Family Court Judge.

District Judges
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     Mr Garry TALLENTIRE, Mr Eddie YIP Chor-man, Mrs Katina LEVY LAW Suet-mui, Mr CHAN Chan-kok, Mr Simon KWANG Cheok-weung, Mr Albert WONG Sung-hau, Mr Frankie YIU Fun-che, Mr WONG King-wah, Mr POON Siu-tung, Mr Justin KO King-sau and Mr Douglas YAU Tak-hong are appointed as District Judges.

Principal Magistrates
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     Mr Anthony CHOW Siu-wo, Mr Anthony KWOK Kai-on and Mr TAM Lee-cheung are appointed as Principal Magistrates.

Magistrates
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     Mr Raymond WONG Kwok-fai, Ms CHAN Wai-mun and Miss Josephine CHOW Pok-fun are appointed as Magistrates.  

     Further judicial appointments will be announced in due course.

     The biographical notes of the appointees are as follows:

The Honourable Madam Justice Susan KWAN Shuk-hing

     The Honourable Madam Justice Kwan was born in 1954 in Macau. After obtaining LL.B. and P.C.LL. from University of Hong Kong in 1977 and 1978 respectively, she was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1979. She was in private practice between 1980 and 1999.  She was appointed as Deputy Registrar of the High Court in 1999.  She was appointed as Judge of the Court of First Instance of the High Court in 2001.

His Honour Judge Anthony TO Kwai-fung

     His Honour Judge To was born in Hong Kong in 1946.  He graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1969, LL.B. in 1978 and LL.M. in 1988.  He was admitted as solicitor in Hong Kong in 1981 and in England in 1984.  He was appointed as Crown Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel in 1981 and 1983 respectively.  He joined the Judiciary as Magistrate in 1987 and served as Presiding Officer of the Labour Tribunal between 1988 and 1993.  He was appointed as Principal Magistrate in 1993, Chief Magistrate in 1995 and District Judge in 1997.

His Honour Judge Peter John LINE

     His Honour Judge Line was born in 1949 in the United Kingdom.  He graduated from the Keele University in the United Kingdom in 1971 and was called to the Bar in England and Wales in 1972.  He was in private practice between 1974 and 1988.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 1988, and as District Judge in 1997.  

Her Honour Judge Maggie POON Man-kay

     Her Honour Judge Poon was born in Hong Kong in 1962.  She obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Jurisprudence and LL.M. from the University of Oxford and the University of Hong Kong in 1985 and 1990 respectively.  She obtained a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Oxford in 2000.  She was called to the English and Hong Kong Bar in 1986 and 1987 respectively.  She was in private practice between 1988 and 1994.  She was appointed as Magistrate in 1994, and as District Judge in 1998.  

His Honour Judge Derek PANG Wai-cheong

     His Honour Judge Pang was born in Hong Kong in 1961. He obtained LL.B. from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom in 1985. He obtained his Master of Public Administration from the University of Hong Kong in 1990 and LL.B. from Peking University in 1995. He was called to the English and Hong Kong Bar in 1986 and 1987 respectively. He joined the then Legal Department as Crown Counsel in 1987 and was promoted to Deputy Principal Crown Counsel in 1996.  He was appointed as District Judge in 2000.  

His Honour Judge Colin Richard MACKINTOSH

     His Honour Judge Mackintosh was born in the United Kingdom in 1953. He obtained LL.B. from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom in 1975. He was called to the Bar in England and Wales in 1976 and in Hong Kong in 1996. He was in private practice between 1978 and 1991. He joined the Judiciary as Magistrate from 1991 to 1997. He was in private practice between 1997 and 1998 and was appointed as Magistrate in 1998.  He was appointed as District Judge in 2007.  

His Honour Judge AU Hing-cheung

     His Honour Judge Au was born in Hong Kong in 1963.  He obtained LL.B. from the University of Hong Kong in 1996, Bachelor of Civil Law Degree from the University of Oxford in 1997 and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1998.  He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1998 and was in private practice between 1999 and 2007.  He was appointed as District Judge in 2007.  

Her Honour Judge Bebe CHU Pui-ying

     Her Honour Judge Chu was born in Hong Kong in 1952. She obtained LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1974 and 1975 respectively.  She was admitted as solicitor in Hong Kong in 1977 and was called to the Bar in New York, USA in 1986.  She was admitted as solicitor in England and Wales in 1990 and in Singapore in 1991.  She was in private practice between 1977 and 2003.  She was appointed as District Judge in 2003.  

Mr Garry TALLENTINE

     Mr Tallentire was born in the United Kingdom in 1950.  He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom in 1972.  He was admitted as solicitor in England and Wales in 1975.  He was in private practice before being appointed as Magistrate in 1988.  He was appointed as Principal Magistrate in 1997.  

Mr Eddie YIP Chor-man

     Mr Yip was born in Hong Kong in 1963.  He obtained LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1986 and 1987 respectively.  He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1987.  He was in private practice between 1988 and 1997.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 1997.

Mrs Katina LEVY LAW Suet-mui

     Mrs Levy was born in Hong Kong in 1958. She obtained LL.B. from the University of London in 1988 and LL.M. from the University of Hong Kong in 2004.  She was called to the Bar in England and Wales in 1989 and in Hong Kong in 1990.  She was in private practice between 1991 and 1998.  She was appointed as Magistrate in 1998.

Mr CHAN Chan-kok

     Mr Chan was born in Macau in 1960. He obtained LL.B. from the University of London in 1989, P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1990, and LL.M. from the City University of Hong Kong in 1997.  He was admitted as solicitor in Hong Kong in 1992 and in England and Wales in 1993. He was in private practice between 1992 and 1998.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 1998.

Mr Simon KWANG Cheok-weung

     Mr Kwang was born in Hong Kong in 1963. He obtained LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1985 and 1986 respectively.  He was admitted as solicitor in Hong Kong in 1988 and in England and Wales in 1991.  He was later admitted as advocate and solicitor in Singapore in 1994.  He was in private practice between 1988 and 2000.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2000.  

Mr Albert WONG Sung-hau

     Mr Wong was born in Hong Kong in 1957. He obtained LL.B. from the University of Buckingham in the United Kingdom in 1989 and was called to the Bar in England and Wales and in Hong Kong both in 1990. He joined the then Legal Department as Assistant Crown Counsel in 1990, and was promoted to Crown Counsel and Senior Crown Counsel in 1991 and 1994 respectively.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2000.

Mr Frankie YIU Fun-che

     Mr Yiu was born in Hong Kong in 1969. He obtained LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the City University of Hong Kong in 1992 and 1993 respectively.  He further obtained LL.M. from the University of Hong Kong in 2007.  He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1993.  He was in private practice between 1994 and 2001.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2001.

Mr WONG King-wah

     Mr Wong was born in Hong Kong in 1960. He obtained LL.B. from the University of London in 1990 and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1991.  He was admitted as solicitor in Hong Kong in 1993 and in England and Wales in 1997. He was in private practice between 1993 and 2001.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2001.

Mr POON Siu-tung

     Mr Poon was born in Hong Kong in 1967. After obtaining LL.B. from the University of Hong Kong in 1990, he obtained P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1993.  He was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1994 and was in private practice between 1994 and 2002.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2002.

Mr Justin KO King-sau

     Mr Ko was born in Hong Kong in 1967.  He obtained LL.B. from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom in 1992.  He was called to the Bar in England and Wales and in Hong Kong both in 1993.  He was in private practice between 1994 and 2002.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2002.  

Mr Douglas YAU Tak-hong

     Mr Yau was born in Hong Kong in 1967.  He obtained LL.B. from the University of London in 1993.  He was called to the Bar in England and Wales and in Hong Kong both in 1994.  He was in private practice between 1995 and 2002.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2002.  

Mr Anthony CHOW Siu-wo

     Mr Chow was born in Hong Kong in 1956.  He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from York University, Canada in 1980, a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Miami, USA in 1984, and LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario, Canada in 1987.  He was admitted as barrister and solicitor in Canada in 1989, as Attorney at Law, New York, USA in 1991 and as solicitor in England and Wales and in Hong Kong in 1993.  He was in private practice between 1989 and 1997.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 1997.  

Mr Anthony KWOK Kai-on

     Mr Kwok was born in Hong Kong in 1963.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in law from the University of Kent at Canterbury, United Kingdom in 1986.  He was called to the Bar in England and Wales and the Bar in Hong Kong in 1989 and was in private practice between 1990 and 1997.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 1997.  

Mr TAM Lee-cheung

     Mr Tam was born in Hong Kong in 1959. He obtained LL.B. from the University of London in 1989 and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1990. He was admitted as solicitor in Hong Kong in 1992 and was in private practice between 1992 and 2001.  He was appointed as Magistrate in 2001.

Mr Raymond WONG Kwok-fai

     Mr Wong was born in Hong Kong in 1962. He obtained LL.B. from the University of London in 1994 and was called to the Bar in England and Wales in 1996 and the Hong Kong Bar in 1997. He joined the then Legal Department as Court Prosecutor in 1989, and was promoted as Senior Court Prosecutor II in 1995.  He was appointed as Special Magistrate in 2001.

Ms CHAN Wai-mun

     Ms Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1968.  She obtained LL.B. from the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom in 1996 and P.C.LL. from the City University of Hong Kong in 1997.  She was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1999.  She joined the then Legal Department as Court Prosecutor in 1992.  She was in private practice between 2001 and 2007.   She was appointed as Special Magistrate in 2007.  

Miss Josephine CHOW Pok-fun

     Miss Chow was born in Hong Kong in 1974. She obtained LL.B. and P.C.LL. from the University of Hong Kong in 1996 and 1998 respectively. She was called to the Bar in Hong Kong in 1998. She was in private practice between 1999 and 2007.  She was appointed as Special Magistrate in 2007.

Ends/Thursday, September 24, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:02

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