Former NUS law dean Thio Su Mien dies aged 86

Straits Times

21 hours ago

Madam Thio Su Mien was the first woman dean of the NUS law faculty, a post she held from 1969 to 1971. PHOTO: THE NEW PAPER FILE
SINGAPORE - Former National University of Singapore (NUS) law dean Thio Su Mien died at the age of 86 on the morning of June 30.
Dr Thio died from acute myeloid leukaemia, which she was diagnosed with in early May.
She was the first woman dean of the NUS law faculty, a post she held from 1969 to 1971. Aged 30 when she was appointed, she was also the youngest person to assume the role .
Dr Thio's son, Senior Counsel Thio Shen Yi of TSMP Law Corporation, said Dr Thio was a legal luminary to many.
The 58-year-old, who was Law Society president from 2015 to 2016, added: 'But more importantly to me, mum taught me to value fairness and justice, and to speak up for what I believed was right. I hope I've done a bit of that.'
Former Nominated Member of Parliament Thio Li-ann, Dr Thio's first daughter, said her mother was a woman of great courage, integrity and justice 'who loved her family, church and country'.
'A committed Christian, she devoted hours teaching and counselling many, earnest that they be whole and find their call and destiny, as she most indubitably did,' said Professor Thio, 57.
Dr Thio founded Singapore-based TSMP Law Corporation with Ms Tan Bee Lian in 1998.
As one of the foremost constitutional law experts in Singapore, she served as a judge on the World Bank Administrative Tribunal and the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal.
Dr Thio also played a key role in the 2009 takeover of the Association of Women for Action and Research's (Aware) leadership by a Christian faction.
Dr Thio was married to Olympian and real estate tycoon Thio Gim Hock, who died at the age of 82 in 2020.
The couple had three children. Their youngest child Thio Chi-ann, 52, is a housewife who lives in the UK.
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