SINGAPORE - A $200,000 scholarship will be available to law students in the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), thanks to a donation from the estate of former Supreme Court Judge Choor Singh.
Under the Choor Singh Study Award, $10,000 will be presented to up to two deserving candidates enrolled in either the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or the Juris Doctor (JD) programme in SUSS starting from next year.
The award is bond-free and will be available to Singapore citizens with an average monthly household income of no more than $4,300 or who can provide evidence of financial hardship. Other eligibility criteria include acceptable academic results, involvement in social or community work and a likelihood of practising family or criminal law.
Justice Singh, who rose to the pinnacle of his profession after starting as a solicitor's clerk, was passionate about serving his community and was especially sympathetic to educational causes, said a press release from SUSS. He contributed to many Sikh educational charities and was a member of the Singapore Indian Education Fund Trust, which provides financial assistance to needy and deserving Indian students in Singapore. He died in March 2009 at the age of 98.
His son, Dr Daljeet Singh Sidhu, was present at SUSS on Wednesday (May 30) to execute the donation documents and present the cheque to the university's Provost Professor Tsui Kai Chong. Dr Singh revealed that SUSS' dedication to training mid-career students in law resonated with him because his father was only able to pursue his law studies in his 30s. Justice Singh also had to work and study while supporting a young family.
"The Study Award was created in my father's memory to encourage mature students to pursue law," he said. "He would've been pleased to know that we're supporting both young and working adults in SUSS who need financial help to do this."
Professor Tsui, who received the cheque on behalf of SUSS, said that the university was honoured to be a recipient of the donation.
"This will benefit deserving law students and have a positive ripple effect on society when students graduate and serve as legal professionals."
Law students at SUSS can go online to apply for the award in August 2018.
The Choor Singh Study award is the second scholarship opportunity made available to them, with the School of Law having set up the Irene Tan Liang Kheng Scholarship Award after receiving a $2 million donation from the estate of Madam Irene Tan Liang Kheng in Jan 2018.
