Tossing Up for a Prosperous Year of the Horse!

February 2014

February 2014 heralded in the Lunar New Year of the Horse with a wave of prosperity greetings for staff by the Supreme Court’s very own “Cai Shen Ye” (Chinese God of Wealth)!

On 10 and 11 February 2014, the gongs and clangs of “Cai Shen Dao” (which means “Money God has arrived”) folk tunes filled the offices of the Supreme Court as Jack Lim from CSD and Chong Hoong Sang from CPD came decked out as “Cai Shen Ye”, the deity of wealth in traditional Chinese folklore, to meet, greet and literally line the pockets of staff with gold (chocolate) coins, oranges and photo opportunities holding up the prosperity gold ingot of “Cai Shen Ye”!

The greetings of prosperity did not just stop there. The Supreme Court auditorium was virtually transformed into a “Hall of Prosperity” on 11 February 2014 for the “Lo Hei” Lunar New Year staff celebration lunch, with red-clad banquet tables laid out in preparation for mass tossing of the prosperity salad dish, “yu sheng” and walls adorned with Lunar New Year crafts by staff! While everyone tossed up “yu sheng” to herald in a prosperous Year of the Horse, our specially assembled Supreme Court choir serenaded all with charming Lunar New Year folk songs amid enthusiastic cheers, applause and calls for “Encore!”

On stage, staff were quizzed on the symbolic meaning of each “yu sheng” ingredient, challenged to piece together Lunar New Year greeting messages and tantalised with attractive prizes to guess the number of peanuts in different bottles, whilst enjoying a sumptuous post-”yu sheng” buffet spread. It was indeed a galloping start to the Year of the Horse for all at the Supreme Court!

Encore for our Supreme Court Lunar New Year choir!

UPCOMING

VISIT

On 13 February 2014, CJ Sundaresh Menon held a dialogue session with faculty staff and students of Temasek Polytechnic at the Supreme Court, as part of the Supreme Court’s ongoing school outreach programme, which includes regular student building tours and interactive learning sessions at the Learning Court.

Temasek Polytechnic Dialogue Session

Visit by delegation of judges from the Supreme Court of the Maldives A delegation of judges from the Supreme Court of the Maldives will be visiting the Supreme Court of Singapore on 13 March 2014 for training sessions on international arbitration.

welcome

New Justices’ Law Clerks A warm welcome to our new Justices’ Law Clerks (JLCs)! The JLCs will assist The Honourable the Chief Justice, Judges of Appeal and Judges of the Supreme Court by providing assistance in legal research in civil and criminal appeals before the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

(L-R) Chia Huai Yuan, Liu Zhao Xiang, Shaun Pereira, Wong Wei Hong, Bryan Fang, Ho Lian-Yi, Jonathan Muk Chen Yeen, Ramasamy s/o Nachiappan, Chen Zhida, Regina Lim Siew Mei, Vince Gui Chuan Cheng, Devathas Satianathan.

Lim Sai Nei Assistant Registrar “I was previously a State Counsel in the Civil Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers. I enjoy cooking and travelling.”

Michelle Choo Siew Li Private Secretary to Judicial Commissioner “I look forward to learning new things and knowing more people here. My hobby is watching Korean movies!”

Ou Yang Yu Temporary MSO, Legal Directorate “This is my first time stepping foot into the Supreme Court and this place feels magnificent! Hopefully I can come back to this great workplace after my intended further studies!”

Ng Yi Jia Jazz Hearing Support Officer, Legal Directorate “I look forward to building an exciting and challenging career with the Supreme Court, as well as enhancing my knowledge and learning new skills at my workplace.”

The race is on for the fastest Year of the Horse greeting on stage!

Understanding and anticipating customers’ needs is a core value of our Customer Service Creed. But in reality, it is easier said than done! We find out from Elaine Tan, our customer service executive at the Supreme Court service counter, constantly meeting and greeting people from all walks of life with a smile, on the typical and atypical enquiries she encounters every other day.

Litigants-In-Person (LIPs) “Most of the time when LIPs come to the Supreme Court for a hearing, they do not know which chamber/court to attend. After checking, I will direct them to the court room where their hearing is scheduled. For chamber hearings, I will guide them through the CDMS to get a queue ticket and direct them to the relevant chamber.”

Lawyers and Legal Assistants “Sometimes lawyers and legal assistants come to me when they are unsure of their hearing timings and venues. I will check through the weekly hearing list and inform them of the correct court room and try to help them out on the spot. But if I am handling too many customers at a time, I will direct them to our CDMS and guide them through to get a ticket from the CDMS if the hearing is in a chamber.”

Wanderers and Tourists “They have no specific need or desire in mind when they come into the Supreme Court. Rather, they just want to experience the building. I will pass them information on the Supreme Court, for example, Level 1 Heritage Gallery, Level 8 Viewing Gallery, the Learning Court and also the location of the court rooms.”

Direction Seekers “Almost every other day, I get walk-in customers asking for information on public bus routes, telephone numbers for taxi bookings and directions to other buildings. I will help them as much as I can because their opinion of our services are important, even if their enquiries are not related to Supreme Court matters.”

Leong Kum Kwai Jessie Private Secretary to Judicial Commissioner “I enjoy listening to music and love watching Korean and Taiwanese dramas. Playing with my grand-daughter too gives me much joy. I look forward to your warm support and teamwork.”

“Cai Shen Ye” (chocolate) coffers continue to spilleth over! CJ Menon, CE and staff applaud the entertaining stage activities