Chao Tzee Cheng
Encyclopedia
Professor
Chao Tzee Cheng ' onMouseout='HidePop("15974")' href="/topics/Hong_Kong">Hong Kong
– 21 February 2000 in New York
) was a renowned forensic pathologist
in Singapore
. Chao was respected for solving several notorious crimes in Singapore, and raised Singapore's level of professionalism in the area of forensics
.
and a school principal. Of Cantonese
origin, he later migrated to Singapore with his parents and received his education
at Catholic High School
and Victoria Continuation School. Although offered a scholarship
to read engineering
in the United States
, he decided to take up medicine
at University of Hong Kong.
After graduating with an MBBS
in Hong Kong in 1961, Chao returned to Singapore to serve as a medical officer. Chao also took a Diploma
in Clinical Pathology
in 1967, followed by a Diploma of Pathology
in 1968 and a Diploma of Medical Jurisprudence
in 1968.
However, a car accident
in West Malaysia left him with a weakened right arm and dashed his hopes of a career in surgery
. Unfazed, Professor Chao turned to a career in pathology. By 1968, Chao qualified as a pathologist, obtaining his specialised skills from the Royal London Hospital
, Medical College, currently under the Queen Mary, University of London
.
Chao married Joyce Wong Yoke Choy in 1963. They had a son Dr Alexandre Chao, who succumbed to SARS in 2003.
. Almost immediately, Chao was involved in his first case as a pathologist. He was invited to be an expert witness
in the murder
case of Koh Liang Chuen in 1969. The notoriety of this case raised Chao's standing as a forensic expert in the region. His forensic expertise and duties extended beyond Singapore to countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong and even certain states of West Africa
.
In his career
, Chao performed over 25,000 autopsies and was the authoritative expert witness in many unsolved murder cases worldwide. His forensic capability was demonstrated in the investigation of mass disaster
s such as the Spyros blast, the Singapore Cable Car tragedy, the Hotel New World disaster
and the SilkAir Flight 185
tragedy
. He also helped solve notorious crimes in the annals of Singapore criminal law
, such as the Adrian Lim cult murders, the Scripps
Body Parts murders, the Bulgaria
n murder and the Flor Contemplacion
case. He was nicknamed the "Justice
of Murder" by his associates for his uncanny ability to solve murder cases.
Despite the political sensitivities
of several of his cases, Professor Chao remained objective
and presented the fact
s as he knew them. He was also known to stand for justice, no matter which side of the fence it stood on. For example, in 1975, he testified as an expert witness for the defence
at the Kuala Lumpur
High Court trial
of Hugh Ashley Johnston for the murder of his wife. In the end, a six-to-one jury
verdict
held that Johnston had no intention to kill his wife.
Chao served in various capacities, including the Master of the Singapore Academy of Medicine (1992–1995), and President of the Singapore Society of Pathology (1987–1990). He also founded the Medico-Legal Society, and served as its President from 1985 until his death in 2000.
In 1999, Chao co-author
ed a book with Audrey Perera entitled Murder Is My Business, which documented some of his better-known cases.
on a visit to his sister in New York on 21 February 2000. At the time of his death, Chao was holding posts in the Institute of Science and Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Health, National University of Singapore
and Singapore General Hospital
in Singapore. In memory of him, the National University of Singapore has set up the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship in Pathology and Forensic Science.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Chao Tzee Cheng ' onMouseout='HidePop("15974")' href="/topics/Hong_Kong">Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
– 21 February 2000 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) was a renowned forensic pathologist
Forensic pathology
Forensic pathology is a branch of pathology concerned with determining the cause of death by examination of a corpse. The autopsy is performed by the pathologist at the request of a coroner or medical examiner usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Chao was respected for solving several notorious crimes in Singapore, and raised Singapore's level of professionalism in the area of forensics
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
.
Early life and education
Chao Tzee Cheng was the son of a professor in cultural studiesCultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
and a school principal. Of Cantonese
Cantonese people
The Cantonese people are Han people whose ancestral homes are in Guangdong, China. The term "Cantonese people" would then be synonymous with the Bun Dei sub-ethnic group, and is sometimes known as Gwong Fu Jan for this narrower definition...
origin, he later migrated to Singapore with his parents and received his education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
at Catholic High School
Catholic High School (Singapore)
Catholic High School ' is an all-boys Catholic school in Singapore offering a six-year primary, a four-year GCE 'O' Level education and a six-year GCE 'A' Level education starting from 2013. The primary school offers the Gifted Education Program in addition to the standard PSLE curriculum. The...
and Victoria Continuation School. Although offered a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to read engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he decided to take up medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at University of Hong Kong.
After graduating with an MBBS
MBBS
MBBS was a popular BBS system in the Nordic countries during the mid-1990s. It was created by a team of Oslo-based enthusiasts, led by Mike Robertson. As many BBS systems of that era, it was only available for the DOS platform. Since one process could only handle one node, multitaskers such as...
in Hong Kong in 1961, Chao returned to Singapore to serve as a medical officer. Chao also took a Diploma
Diploma
A diploma is a certificate or deed issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that testifies that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study or confers an academic degree. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, the word diploma refers to...
in Clinical Pathology
Clinical pathology
Clinical pathology , Laboratory Medicine , Clinical analysis or Clinical/Medical Biology , is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the laboratory analysis of bodily fluids, such as...
in 1967, followed by a Diploma of Pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
in 1968 and a Diploma of Medical Jurisprudence
Medical jurisprudence
Medical jurisprudence, or forensic medicine in the broad sense , now embraces all matters which may bring the physician into contact with the law...
in 1968.
However, a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
in West Malaysia left him with a weakened right arm and dashed his hopes of a career in surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
. Unfazed, Professor Chao turned to a career in pathology. By 1968, Chao qualified as a pathologist, obtaining his specialised skills from the Royal London Hospital
Royal London Hospital
The Royal London Hospital was founded in September 1740 and was originally named The London Infirmary. The name changed to The London Hospital in 1748 and then to The Royal London Hospital on its 250th anniversary in 1990. The first patients were treated at a house in Featherstone Street,...
, Medical College, currently under the Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
Chao married Joyce Wong Yoke Choy in 1963. They had a son Dr Alexandre Chao, who succumbed to SARS in 2003.
Career
Upon his return to Singapore, Chao was appointed the forensic pathologist at the Department of Pathology in the Ministry of HealthMinistry of Health (Singapore)
The Ministry of Health is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for providing information, raising health awareness and education, ensuring the accessibility of health services, and monitoring the quality of health services provided to citizens and visitors in the Republic of...
. Almost immediately, Chao was involved in his first case as a pathologist. He was invited to be an expert witness
Expert witness
An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
in the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
case of Koh Liang Chuen in 1969. The notoriety of this case raised Chao's standing as a forensic expert in the region. His forensic expertise and duties extended beyond Singapore to countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong and even certain states of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
.
In his career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
, Chao performed over 25,000 autopsies and was the authoritative expert witness in many unsolved murder cases worldwide. His forensic capability was demonstrated in the investigation of mass disaster
Disaster
A disaster is a natural or man-made hazard that has come to fruition, resulting in an event of substantial extent causing significant physical damage or destruction, loss of life, or drastic change to the environment...
s such as the Spyros blast, the Singapore Cable Car tragedy, the Hotel New World disaster
Hotel New World disaster
The Hotel New World emergency occurred on 15 March 1986, and was Singapore's deadliest civil disaster since the Spyros disaster of 12 October 1978. The six-story building situated at the junction of Serangoon Road and Owen Road rapidly collapsed, trapping 50 people beneath the rubble...
and the SilkAir Flight 185
SilkAir Flight 185
SilkAir Flight 185, a Boeing 737-36N, registration 9V-TRF, was a scheduled passenger flight from Jakarta, Indonesia to Singapore, which crashed on 19 December 1997 into the Musi River after abruptly plunging from its 35,000-foot cruise altitude, killing all 97 passengers and 7 crew on board.The...
tragedy
Tragedy (event)
A tragedy is an event in which one or more losses, usually of human life, occurs that is viewed as mournful. Such an event is said to be tragic....
. He also helped solve notorious crimes in the annals of Singapore criminal law
Criminal law
Criminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
, such as the Adrian Lim cult murders, the Scripps
John Martin Scripps
John Martin was a British spree killer who murdered three tourists—Gerard Lowe in Singapore, and Sheila and Darin Damude in Thailand—with another three unconfirmed victims. He posed as a tourist himself when committing the murders, for which British tabloids nickname him "the tourist from Hell"...
Body Parts murders, the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n murder and the Flor Contemplacion
Flor Contemplacion
Flor R. Contemplacion born in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines was a Filipina domestic worker who was executed in Singapore for murder...
case. He was nicknamed the "Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
of Murder" by his associates for his uncanny ability to solve murder cases.
Despite the political sensitivities
Sensitivity (human)
The sensitivity or insensitivity of a human, often considered with regard to a particular kind of stimulus, is the strength of the feeling it results in, in comparison with the strength of the stimulus...
of several of his cases, Professor Chao remained objective
Objectivity (philosophy)
Objectivity is a central philosophical concept which has been variously defined by sources. A proposition is generally considered to be objectively true when its truth conditions are met and are "mind-independent"—that is, not met by the judgment of a conscious entity or subject.- Objectivism...
and presented the fact
Fact
A fact is something that has really occurred or is actually the case. The usual test for a statement of fact is verifiability, that is whether it can be shown to correspond to experience. Standard reference works are often used to check facts...
s as he knew them. He was also known to stand for justice, no matter which side of the fence it stood on. For example, in 1975, he testified as an expert witness for the defence
Defense (legal)
In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant may raise a defense in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability...
at the Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
High Court trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
of Hugh Ashley Johnston for the murder of his wife. In the end, a six-to-one jury
Jury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
verdict
Verdict
In law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge. The term, from the Latin veredictum, literally means "to say the truth" and is derived from Middle English verdit, from Anglo-Norman: a compound of ver and dit In law, a verdict...
held that Johnston had no intention to kill his wife.
Chao served in various capacities, including the Master of the Singapore Academy of Medicine (1992–1995), and President of the Singapore Society of Pathology (1987–1990). He also founded the Medico-Legal Society, and served as its President from 1985 until his death in 2000.
In 1999, Chao co-author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
ed a book with Audrey Perera entitled Murder Is My Business, which documented some of his better-known cases.
Death
Chao died in his sleepSleep
Sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
on a visit to his sister in New York on 21 February 2000. At the time of his death, Chao was holding posts in the Institute of Science and Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Health, National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
and Singapore General Hospital
Singapore General Hospital
The Singapore General Hospital is the largest and oldest hospital in Singapore, of which the foundation of its first building was laid in 1821....
in Singapore. In memory of him, the National University of Singapore has set up the Chao Tzee Cheng Professorship in Pathology and Forensic Science.