Chan Sze Jin

Chan Sze Jin CMG (6 September 1886 – 26 September 1948) was a lawyer and a politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council of Singapore, and was the first lawyer in private practice to be conferred the CMG. He was also the second lawyer to be conferred the CMG, after Thomas Braddell, and the fourth Chinese to be conferred the CMG, after Hoo Ah Kay, Tan Jiak Kim and Loke Yew.

Early life and education Chan was born on 6 September 1886 in Sarawak as the son of Chan Fook Nyan, who was the Chief Clerk of the Kuala Lumpur Sanitary Board and later an inspector for the Chinese Secretariat in Singapore. He was the younger brother of Chan Sze Kiong, who was the Chief Clerk of the firm D. G. Robertson & Co., and Chan Sze Pong, a doctor, and the elder brother of Chan Sze Onn, a prominent businessman and chartered accountant. His godfather was British colonial administrator Sir John Pickersgill Rodger.

He attended Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, and won the Teacher Scholarship at the age of 12 in 1898. He then proceeded to win the Rodger Medal, which had been instituted by his godfather in 1985, five times in a row. In 1901, Chan left Victoria Institution to attend the Penang Free School in Penang, as Victoria Institution did not offer a Queen's Scholarship class. He took his BA and LLB examinations in 1907, and then his Law Tripos and his History Tripos Part II the following year.

Career Chan moved to Singapore and was admitted to the Bar in Singapore on 20 March 1911, and established a law firm named Chan & Swee Teow the following year with Wee Swee Teow. While he was in the legislative council, he help to draft the Children's Ordinance. He and his brothers Sze Pong and Sze Onn were prominent members of the Chinese community in Singapore, and were known as the "Chan Brothers". His funeral was held the next day at Bidadari Cemetery, and was officiated by Reverend Goh Hood Keng. It was attended by over 1,000 people.