Alvin Yeo
|
Alvin Yeo Khirn Hai
| |
|---|---|
| 杨康海 | |
| Member of Parliament for Hong Kah GRC | |
|
In office 27 April 2006 – 18 April 2011 |
|
| Succeeded by | Himself (Chua Chu Kang GRC) |
| Member of Parliament for Chua Chu Kang GRC | |
|
In office 7 May 2011 – 25 August 2015 |
|
| Preceded by | Himself (Hong Kah GRC) |
| Succeeded by | Yee Chia Hsing |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 March 1962 State of Singapore |
| Died | 30 July 2022 (aged 60) Singapore |
| Political party | People's Action Party |
| Spouse | Chan Hee Lien |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician |
Alvin Yeo Khirn Hai (Chinese: 杨康海; pinyin: Yáng Kānghǎi; 28 March 1962 – 30 July 2022) was a Singaporean lawyer and politician.
Education
Yeo obtained his LLB from King's College London.
Career
Politics
Yeo was a member of the People's Action Party. He served as Member of Parliament for Hong Kah GRC from 2006 to 2011, and for Chua Chu Kang GRC from 2011 to 2015.
At the 2015 general elections, he retired from politics, with Yee Chia Hsing succeeding in his seat. During his time as a Member of Parliament, he was Chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Home Affairs and Law.
Legal
Yeo was called to the bar in 1988. In 1992, Yeo founded the law firm, WongPartnership along with Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Sundaresh Menon, and Wong Meng Meng. In 2000, Yeo was appointed as a senior counsel, making him the youngest lawyer to be named at that time.
On 31 July 2017, a complaint of possible overcharging by Yeo was made by three Court of Appeal judges to the Law Society. The legal bill that was sent to a wealthy widow, who Yeo represented between November 2010 to June 2015 in series of legal proceedings was S$8.8 million. The judges were concerned by the amount charged and with the client's lack of mental capacity. The bill was later discounted by 32.5 percent. On 19 June 2019, a Law Society disciplinary tribunal dismissed the complaint. On 24 June 2019, the Law Society sought a review of the tribunal to the High Court of Singapore. On 8 January 2020, the High Court later ordered for another round of disciplinary tribunal hearings after having found that the original charges brought on by Law Society were not framed properly as they excluded considerations for the client's lack of mental capacity, and also that the original tribunal had decided that the mental capacity issues were not within the scope of complaint, contrary to some of the initial concerns raised by the Appeal judges. On objections from Yeo's lawyers that he would have to be investigated again, the High Court judge, Justice Valerie Thean, called the situation "unfortunate" and cited a 2008 parliamentary act that forbids any judicial review while disciplinary proceedings are ongoing, and thus the Court could only review after disclipinary proceedings completed.
Yeo was the chairman and senior partner of WongPartnership.
Business
After Peter Lim owned Valencia CF in 2014, he appointed a new board of directors which included Yeo. Yeo held the directorship until his death in 2022.
Personal life
Yeo was married to Chan Hee Lien and had two children. He died on 30 July 2022 from cancer, aged 60.
Accolades
- 2017 – Outstanding Contribution to the Legal Profession, Chambers Asia-Pacific