Lifestyle

Lawyers in Singapore, besides regularly appearing in the courts, are also often seen in fields, courts and alleys. In the corridors outside the Registrars and Judges' Chambers, you can hear words such as 'football', 'golf', 'tennis' and 'bowling' being bandied about by lawyers on any given day. Some of these lawyers are great supporters of the Annual Bench & Bar Games organised by the Law Societies of Singapore and Malaysia. A breed of lawyers also exists who have represented Singapore in international competitions. Here are stories of four lawyers whose passion for their chosen sport burns strongly till this day.

Alvin Chang and Tan Ying Wee

'We are no professional bowlers, you know', Alvin said to me when I first met with him and Ying Wee. Assuring them of SLG's interest in their love for bowling, we engaged in an evening of light, fun-filled chat interspersed with lots of loud friendly laughter. Alvin and Ying Wee met at a bowling game in 2000. Their mutual interest in bowling sparked off an interest in each other that will eventually lead to a lifelong union. Bowling is a leisure sport to them and the couple bowls together weekly as well as in competitions organised by the Law Society, various professional bodies, the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.

A jovial and fun loving couple, Alvin and Ying Wee religiously participate in the Bench & Bar Games every year. 'It is a time for us to play our favourite sport and to take in a short holiday as well in Malaysia this year', said Alvin. Ying Wee replied, 'Well, he will have no time to relax. He is playing in the football matches as well as participating in the bowling competitions every day during the Games'.

The sports fanatic of the two, Alvin also plays soccer and enjoys sepak takraw, basketball, football and snooker. 'I enjoy sports and what else can I do in Singapore if I don't play sports', remarked Alvin, a Malaysian who has been living in Singapore for many years. The amiable Ying Wee, who also loves swimming, enjoys a busy corporate real estate practice in William Lai & Alan Wong; whilst the outspoken Alvin spends his work day in the Construction Litigation Department of Khattar Wong & Partners.

This couple is a good example of well-balanced lawyers whose passion for bowling keeps them together, yet each also maintains his/her own separate interests. Ying Wee's other love is her little dog; whilst Alvin's list of interests extends to computer gadgets and movies.

Tsung-hao on extreme right

Lanky and youthful looking, Tsung-hao has three passions in life - law, squash and football - all of which he pursues with equal determination and conviction. His week often sees him trying to juggle squash, football games and a busy shipping practice.

Described by Tsung-hao's football buddy as well as his friend and colleague, Alvin Chang, as an 'Ah Beng' disguised as a lawyer, Tsung-hao's speech is loud, filled with colloquialism and colourful Chinese expressions.

'I love squash as a game - the sound created by the hitting of the squash ball with a squash racquet is music to my ears and really thrills me', he confesses with a flicker of joy in his eyes. Having picked up squash at the age of 10, he went on to participate in competitions organised by clubs, such as the Singapore Recreation Club, and represented Singapore in the international squash arena in 1997. Having received top four rankings several times, Tsung-hao recounts with great joy winning the silver medal in the South-East Asian Games and the gold medal at the Arafura Games in Darwin in 1999. This sportsman would prefer to play his very best and lose a game rather than play badly and yet win a game.

Having scaled great heights in the game of squash, Tsung-hao's simplicity and speech peppered with legal lingo could be the reason why his friends find him endearing and amusing. There is a gentle side to Tsung-hao - the serious, reflective, soft spoken person who loves Indian food with such intensity that he can hear his favourite Muthu Curry Restaurant calling out his name if he walks by Race Course Road without popping in to buy his favourite dish of masala chicken!

'I love the Annual Bench & Bar Games. It is so inspiring to play to the cheers and support of the older members of the Bar', says Tsung-hao as he recounts the enthusiasm shown by the President of the Law Society, Mr Palakrishnan, SC, and Council members such as Sivakumar Murugaiyan, at the recently concluded Bench & Bar Games in Sabah. 'Sometimes, it is this very camaraderie that makes us, younger lawyers, take time off from our busy schedules to play in every year's Bench & Bar Games', is how Tsung-hao sums up the reason for the ever-growing group of ardent supporters and participants in the Games.

'I also enjoy browsing through law books in bookshops,' he said, describing his happiness like the way a three-year-old child would describe a trip to his favourite toy shop. Reading newspapers like The Times and The Independent features prominently in his busy daily life. Tsung-hao's reading interests range from books on the history of sports to legal fiction by John Mortimer.

Tsung-hao's weekends are spent frantically running from one football match in one part of the island to another match at the other end. In between, he drops by the office to catch up on his work and spends time with his loved ones. A friend describes his passion for squash and football as an obsessive-compulsive disorder. If there is anything lacking in Tsung-hao's life right now, it is probably sleep.

Chen Chee Yen
While most of his nine-year-old peers were playing childhood games with their friends, Chee Yen picked up his first tennis racquet to play on a clay court in Perth under the tutelage of his veteran tennis-player father, Chen Chuan Chong. Describing the game as a component of his blood, Chee Yen grew up playing tennis with players who were two years his senior in his young days, and national servicemen in his competitive years. Honing his skills mercilessly and interspersing it with gym and jogging to build up his fitness, Chee Yen's story is one of success soaked in lots of sweat, hard work and sacrifices.

Having read his e-mail setting out his impressive achievements in the field of tennis, I met Chee Yen with a mental picture of a formidable person. On the contrary, he portrayed a picture of a simple, cheerful, pragmatic person who, for practical reasons, chose law over a possible tennis scholarship in his younger days. For him, it is a constant battle juggling his criminal practice in Tan Peng Chin LLC with tennis and family. 'When I wake up, I run through my long schedule in my mind and feel a sense of fatigue at the beginning of the day! Once I start off, however, I just keep on going until it is time to hit the bed again.'

'Tennis is essentially a mental game. Techniques and fitness are secondary. If you are not in the right frame of mind, you will probably not play well', was this tennis pro's success formula. With a great hunger for success and with the mental picture of defeating his opponents, Chee Yen played in the Singapore National Davis and South-East Asian Games Tennis Teams and carved a name for himself in the history of Singapore tennis. He emerged as the top tennis player in Singapore from 1993 to 1996 as well as in 1999.

Playing for the Keppel Club and participating in the Law Society competitions nowadays, Chee Yen's weekends are spent training players as young as five. 'You have to start young, as a tennis player peaks at 19 or 20 years of age', he shared, regaling me with stories of his young trainees with a broad smile.

Does he have any regrets not following in the footsteps of his heroes such as Bjorn Borg by playing full-time tennis? 'Yes. But who is going to sponsor me?' he asks with a smile.

For these sportsmen and many others in our legal profession, the devotion to sports has made it necessary for them to plan their work and life around their sport of choice. The incessant juggling of the various demands on them and their time is an every day necessity of their lives. When you enjoy a pursuit with such intensity, it becomes a part of your existence and it would seem that nothing can separate that pursuit from your life. To all the lawyers who marry sports with their lives, coupled with a busy law career and other personal obligations, cheers to you for your inspiring determination, endless enthusiasm and sacrificing spirit. You have shown us that we too can find time for what we want to do.

Alter Ego Double Bill