Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir PPA SC (born 1980) is a Judicial Commissioner of the Supreme Court of Singapore.
The Honourable Judicial Commissioner Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir | |
|---|---|
| Judicial Commissioner of Singapore | |
| Assumed office 2 May 2024 | |
| Appointed by | Halimah Yacob |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1980 (age 43–44) |
| Nationality | Singaporean |
| Alma mater | |
Education
editMohamed Faizal graduated from the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law with a first class honours LLB in 2005.[1] As a student there, he received numerous awards including the Kwa Geok Choo Scholarship, the CJ Koh Scholarship and the Shook Lin and Bok Award.[2]
Mohamed Faizal subsequently received his LLM from Harvard Law School in 2009[3], which he attended on Kathryn Worth Foundation and Legal Service Commission scholarships,[2]. His thesis written at Harvard Law School was awarded the Gold Medal Prize by the International Insolvency Institute.[1]
Legal career
editAfter graduation from the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law, Mohamed Faizal served as a Justices' Law Clerk and Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court of Singapore. Mohamed Faizal then moved on to the Attorney-General's Chambers, where he eventually became Second Chief Prosecutor.[4] He was also previously in the Singapore Medical Council.[5]
One of the cases managed by Mohamed Faizal was the prosecution of Gaiyathiri Murugayan for the abuse and murder of her Myanmar maid Piang Ngaih Don, who died in July 2016. Gaiyathiri was initially charged with intentional murder before the charge was reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder due to her psychiatric disorders; she also faced more than a hundred charges of causing various degrees of hurt (ranging from hurt to grievous hurt) to the maid. Mohamed Faizal sought the maximum sentence of life imprisonment (or at least 27 years' jail) for Gaiyathiri, labelling her conduct as cruel and heinous, describing the case of Piang's death as a shocking case without parallel. Gaiyathiri was eventually sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment on 22 June 2021.[6][7]
Mohamed Faizal was also involved in the appeal against the sentences of Azlin Arujunah and Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman for the 2016 fatal abuse and murder of their five-year-old son; the couple were earlier acquitted of murder and sentenced to 27 years in prison for child abuse and causing grievous hurt. Senior counsel Goh Yihan was appointed by the Court of Appeal as amicus curiae for the case. Mohamed Faizal successfully convinced the Court of Appeal to find Azlin guilty of murder and increase Ridzuan's sentence to life imprisonment on 12 July 2022.[8][9] Although Mohamed Faizal argued for the death penalty, Azlin was sentenced to life imprisonment for her son's murder three months later by the Court of Appeal.[10]
As a prosecutor, Mohamed Faizal has been described in Parliament as "an excellent example of how one mixes heavy duty responsibilities with regular volunteer work",[11] and has elsewhere been described as one who "epitomises the fair approach" and is "a fair, honorable prosecutor."[12]
In July 2023, Mohamed Faizal was appointed as Judicial Commissioner in the Supreme Court of Singapore, and started his two-year term on 2 May 2024.[13]
Mohamed Faizal was also general editor of the Criminal Procedure Code of Singapore - Annotations and Commentary published in 2012.[14]
Professional Appointments
editMohamed Faizal has sat, and sits, on the MUIS Appeal Board,[15] the board of Advisory.SG,[16] the Advisory Board of the Silent Heroes Awards,[17] as Chairman of the Singapore Silent Heroes Student Award Committee,[18] and also on the NUS Law Advisory Council.[19] He was also on the Editorial Board of the New York International Law Review.[20] Mohamed Faizal has also served on various committees such as the Committee for University Education Places 2015[21] and the Eldershield Review Committee.[16]
Mohamed Faizal is a principal mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre.[22] He had held adjunct teaching positions in the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law[23] and has also been involved in numerous training initiatives, including mediation and negotiation courses.
Awards
editMohamed Faizal received the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 2014.[24] He has undertaken significant work in the area of international conflict resolution and in peace initiatives and was awarded the Association of Conflict Resolution's International Outstanding Leadership Award and the International Mediator of the Year Award.[25]
Mohamed Faizal was awarded the President's Volunteerism & Philanthropy Award in 2015 by the President of Singapore for his work on developing scholarships for lower-income students, including at Bedok View Secondary and at Tampines Junior College.[26] Mohamed Faizal also founded the Phoenix Grant at NUS Faculty of Law,[27] the SLaw Daya Award at the Singapore University of Social Studies,[28] the Raffles Prize and Phoenix Prize at Raffles Hall at the National University of Singapore,[29] and the Health and Humanity Prize at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.[30] He further conceived, and funds, the KS Talent Development Award & Scholarship in Visual Arts at Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN) Katong, a special-needs school in Singapore, that allows special needs students to develop their visual arts talent.[31]
Mohamed Faizal has also received the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World Award[32] and the Minister for Health Award for his contributions on the Eldershield Review Committee.[16]
In 2016, Mohamed Faizal was appointed as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[33]
Mohamed Faizal is listed in The 500 Most Influential Muslims, an annual international publication, as one of the 500 Most Influential Muslims in the World.[34]
Mohamed Faizal was appointed Senior Counsel in January 2020,[35] the first Malay-Muslim in Singapore to be so appointed[34] and becoming the youngest Senior Counsel to be appointed in the Legal Service.[36] The appointment has been described as one "that shattered glass ceilings and inspired countless individuals in the Malay-Muslim community and beyond".[37] He received the Berita Harian Achiever of the Year Award that same year for his achievements in the legal profession and his contributions to community causes.[34]
References
edit- ^ a b "Murali Pillai, Jason Chan, Mohamed Faizal appointed Senior Counsel". Business Times. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Early Start to Giving" (PDF). NUS Law Link: 38. December 2018.
- ^ "Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir". Prestige Online - Singapore. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir". The Varkey Foundation. 29 November 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ SAL Asks: Senior Counsel 2020 (Mohamed Faizal, SC), retrieved 25 May 2022
- ^ "30 years' jail for woman who abused and killed Myanmar maid Piang Ngaih Don". CNA. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Fatal maid abuse: Apex court rejects woman's request for records to support her appeal against 30-year jail term". Today. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Public Prosecutor v Azlin binte Arujunah". Supreme Court of Singapore. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "5-year-old boy who was scalded to death: Mother convicted of murder, father gets life term". The Straits Times. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Parents get life sentence for scalding their 5-year-old son to death". The Straits Times. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Pillai, Murali (12 November 2021). "Speech on Constitution of Singapore (Amendment) Bill dealing with creation of the Judicial Service…". Medium. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Lim, Edna (19 November 2020). "Berita Harian Achiever Of The Year Award Ceremony 2020". | PAP Nee Soon. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Three new judicial commissioners appointed to Supreme Court bench". The Straits Times. 21 July 2023.
- ^ "The Criminal Procedure Code of Singapore – Annotations and Commentary". www.sal.org.sg. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
- ^ "Berita Harian Achiever Of The Year Award Ceremony 2020". | PAP Nee Soon. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "BOARD OF ADVISORS: MOHAMED FAIZAL MOHAMED ABDUL KADIR". Advisory. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Singapore Silent Heroes | Ordinary Humans. Extraordinary Humanity". Singapore Silent Heroes | Ordinary Humans. Extraordinary Humanity. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ SSH-admin (7 February 2024). "Never Too Young To Be A Silent Hero - Mr Mohamed Faizal". Singapore Silent Heroes | Ordinary Humans. Extraordinary Humanity. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Faculty of Law, NUS. "NUS Law Advisory Council". law.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir". Prestige Online - Indonesia. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Principal Mediator". Singapore Mediation Centre. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "NUS - Faculty of Law : Asia's Global Law School". law1.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Board of Advisors". Advisory.sg.
- ^ "Mohamed Faizal Mohamed Abdul Kadir". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ Omar, Siti Nur Aisha (15 October 2015). "Legal Service Officer wins President's Award for Youth for volunteer work". The New Paper. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "NUS Giving Webinar Series – Pay It Forward Conversation". nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ "Cultivating Tenacity Through Adversity – SLAW Daya Award". www.suss.edu.sg. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ^ "Donors and Bursary Recipients". nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
- ^ "List of Medals and Prizes". NUS. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ "National Arts Council Singapore Facebook Page". www.facebook.com. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Tampines JC". tmjc.moe.edu.sg. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ Baharudin, Hafiz (18 November 2020). "Senior counsel named Berita Harian Achiever of the Year for his legal work and community service | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ a b c "Senior state counsel named Berita Harian Achiever of the Year". Business Times. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ "Meet the Newest Senior Counsel". www.sal.org.sg. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
- ^ Lim, Edna (19 November 2020). "Berita Harian Achiever Of The Year Award Ceremony 2020". | PAP Nee Soon. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Tan, Benji (27 September 2024). "'Playful' student beats struggles and circumstances to become judicial commissioner". Stomp. Retrieved 29 October 2024.