SUSS Criminal Law Series: The Evolving Practice of Criminal Law - Key Skills and Ethical Obligations

Overview

The practice of Criminal Law is rapidly evolving. Volume of work remains high, while the complexity of individual cases is increasing. For example, Scams and money-laundering are gaining prominence. Modern offences also often include cross-border and technological issues.

Against this backdrop, it is important to be clear about what skills young lawyers entering the field will need. Coping with the challenge of high-volume, high-complexity work requires lawyers to focus on essentials so as to be efficient and effective. At the same time, the pressures of work may result in temptation to cut corners, which means that standards of professional ethics take on a renewed importance.

This seminar examines these issues from the perspectives of academia, training new criminal lawyers, and from the perspectives of both the prosecution and the defence bar.

1.5 Public CPD Points (inclusive of 0.5 MEC Points)

Practice Area: Crime

Training Level: General

Course Fee: $98.10

Registration Deadline: 25 February 2026

Event ID: EV26000036

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Programme

Panellists

Professor Walter Woon S.C.

Prof. Walter Woon S.C. is currently Lee Kong Chian Visiting Professor, Yong Pung How School of Law, Singapore Management University; Honorary Fellow St John’s College Cambridge University; Emeritus Professor National University of Singapore (former David Marshall Professor of Law), and Senior Consultant with RHTLaw Asia LLP.

Prof. Woon was previously Attorney-General (2008-2010); Solicitor-General (2006-2008), ambassador to Germany, Greece, the European Communities, the European Union, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the Holy See (1998-2006), and Nominated Member of Parliament (1992-1996).

Mr Tan Kiat Pheng

Tan Kiat Pheng graduated with Bachelor of Law (Second Class Honours, Upper Division) from the Faculty of Law of National University of Singapore in 1993. He completed his pupillage and was called to the Bar in 1994.

He joined the Legal Service in mid-1994 and was posted to the Legal Aid Bureau in Ministry of Law as an Assistant Director of Legal Aid.

In 1998, he was reposted to the Insolvency Office and Public Trustee in Ministry of Law as an Assistant Official Assignee, Assistant Official Receiver and Assistant Public Trustee.

In 2001, he was reposted to the Criminal Justice Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers as a State Counsel and Deputy Public Prosecutor.

He began handling corruption cases in 2003 and became Director of Corruption Directorate in 2011 in Financial and Technology Crime Division (“FTCD”), which was set up in 2011 for prosecution of white-collar crimes. In 2013, he became Senior Director of the Corruption Directorate, and in 2015, he was appointed Deputy Chief Prosecutor of FTCD. In 2019, he was appointed Chief Prosecutor of Crime Division. He currently assists Attorney-General Lucien Wong and Deputy Attorney-General Tai Wei Shyong in managing manpower and operations of Crime Division.

Some of the high profile cases that he handled include (i) PP v Peter Benedict Lim Sin Pang, a corruption case that involved the ex-Commissioner of the Singapore Civil Defence Force, (ii) PP v Phey Yew Kok, a criminal breach of trust case that involved an ex-Member of Parliament and ex-trade union leader who absconded for more than 35 years, (iii) PP v Yeo Jia Wei, a case related to corruption and money laundering in the 1MDB case which was investigated by the Commercial Affairs Department, and (iv) the S$3 billion money laundering case that involved former Chinese nationals who parked their ill-gotten assets in Singapore.

He also assisted in the prosecution of (i) the City Harvest Case which involved pastors and staff of a prominent church in Singapore committing criminal breach of trust, and (ii) PP v S Iswaran, a case involving a former Cabinet Minister which was investigated by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.

Mr Wong Kok Weng

Mr Wong Kok Weng graduated from National University of Singapore in 1987 and joined the Singapore Legal Service in 1988.

Mr Wong joined the Ministry of Law in April 2022 to lead the project team to set up the Public Defender’s Office (PDO). The PDO was launched on 1 Dec 2022 and Mr Wong was appointed the Chief Public Defender.

Prior to joining the Ministry of Law, Mr Wong was a Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Crime Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers from 2000 to 2022. As a Senior Director, he led a team of Deputy Public Prosecutors prosecuting diverse criminal offences. He was a legal counsel with the Legal Services Division at the Ministry of Defence from 1991 to 2000, and a Magistrate at the then-Subordinate Courts from 1988 to 1991.

In 2013, Mr Wong chaired an inter-agency committee looking into providing support for accused persons with mental disorders during the criminal investigation process. The findings of this committee led to the introduction of the Appropriate Adult Scheme in 2015. The scheme provides for the presence of an Appropriate Adult during police interviews of accused persons with mental disorders. This scheme was subsequently extended to young suspects below 16 years of age.

Mr Wong obtained the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 1999, the Long Service Award for 35 years of service in 2021 and the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2024.

Mr Alexander Woon (SUSS)

Alexander Woon is a Singapore-qualified lawyer whose practice focuses on criminal law and legal technology & innovation. He is currently Provost’s Chair and Lecturer at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), School of Law. Alexander is the course leader for Criminal Law, and also Law and Emerging Technologies. Alexander also practices law as a Consultant with LVM Law Chambers LLC.

Prior to joining SUSS, Alexander was Deputy Director of the Office of Transformation and Innovation (Judiciary). Alexander started his career as a Deputy Public Prosecutor/State Counsel with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Financial and Technology Crime Division, concurrently appointed to the Technology Crime Unit.