Thio Shen Yi SC is a Singaporean

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

who is a partner of the TSMP Law Corporation, alongside his mother Thio Su Mien and wife Stefanie Yuen-Thio.

Education

Thio completed an undergraduate law degree at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in 1991.

Career

Thio was one of the founding members of TSMP Law Corporation, which was named after his mother Thio Su Mien. He and his wife Stefanie Yuen-Thio are its joint-managing partners. Thio was appointed

Senior Counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

of the

Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal and the High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both civil and criminal appeals from the High Court. The ...

in 2008. From 2015 to 2016, Thio was president of the

Law Society of Singapore The Law Society of Singapore is an organisation which represents all lawyers in Singapore. It publishes the ''Law Gazette'' and operates a scheme for needy people to benefit from legal services free-of-charge. The Society also sets out rules for ...

.In 2016, Thio advocated for accused persons to be given earlier access to legal counsel, pointing out that Singapore's criminal justice system was "an outlier" that placed emphasis on "efficacy of investigations over protection of suspects". This topic received public attention when a 14-year-old boy committed suicide after having been brought in for questioning by police; Thio commented on the incident in the Law Society's newsletter ''Law Gazette'', pointing out that as a vulnerable suspect, the child was not accompanied by a "parent, guardian or lawyer" during the police interview.

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

Minister

K. Shanmugam Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam ( ta, காசிவிஸ்வநாதன் சண்முகம்; born 26 March 1959), better known as K. Shanmugam, is a Singaporean politician and lawyer who has been serving as Minister for Law since 2008 ...

responded to the piece in

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, criticising it for implying that "police intimidation" had caused the death; Thio issued a clarification that this had not been his intention. Other issues Thio addressed during his tenure include the expansion of

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

schemes to cover a wider range of criminal offenses and provide

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

legal assistance to more applicants, as well as managing a glut of law graduates flooding the job market. In 2021, Thio included in lifestyle magazine Tatler's list of 59 "Asia's Most Influential SG" in the Public Service & Law category. , Thio is an independent director of Keppel Infrastructure Trust.

Personal life

Thio is married to Stefanie Yuen-Thio, who is joint-managing partner of TSMP Law Corporation. Thio is the brother of

Thio Li-Ann Thio Li-ann (born 10 March 1968) is a Singaporean law professor at the National University of Singapore. She was educated at the University of Oxford, Harvard Law School and the University of Cambridge. In January 2007, she was appointed a ...

, a professor at the

NUS Faculty of Law The National University of Singapore Faculty of Law (NUS Law) is Singapore's oldest law school. NUS Law was initially established in 1956 as the Department of Law in the University of Malaya. After its establishment, NUS Law was Singapore's only ...

. Thio's mother is Thio Su Mien, a former

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the

. Thio's father is Olympian

Thio Gim Hock Thio Gim Hock (11 March 1938 – 3 April 2020) was a Singaporean water polo player and real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; i ...

. In 2021, Thio was one of the victims of a large-scale "nickel scam" in which he had invested $87,000.

References

{{reflist 20th-century Singaporean lawyers Alumni of the University of Cambridge Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Singaporean lawyers