Lai Chung Han

Lai Chung Han is a Singaporean civil servant and former Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy. He was the rank of Rear-Admiral (two stars) when he retired.

Lai Chung Han
Lai (left) and Commander Kendall Bridgewater of the United States Navy's LCS Crew 104
Second Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Education (Singapore)
Incumbent
Assumed office June 19, 2017
Personal details
Born	Singapore
Spouse(s)	Ng Chiew Yen
Children	2
Education	Christ's College, Cambridge (BA) Harvard University (MPA)
Awards	see #Awards
Military service
Allegiance	Singapore
Branch/service	Republic of Singapore Navy
Years of service	1992–2017
Rank	Rear-Admiral
Commands	Commanding Officer, RSS Valiant (2002–2004) Commander, Missile Corvette Squadron (2007) Fleet Commander (2011) Head of Long Term Planning Secretariat, Office of the Chief of Defence Force Office Director, Future Systems Directorate Director (Policy), Ministry of Defence (2007–2010) Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Defence (2012–2014) Chief of Navy (2014–2017)

This is a Chinese name; the family name is Lai.

Lai Chung Han
Simplified Chinese	黎忠汉
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lí Zhōnghàn

Education

Lai was awarded the President's Scholarship and Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship in 1992. He graduated from Christ's College, Cambridge with a Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in economics. He received the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Postgraduate Scholarship (General Development) in 2006 and obtained a Master of Public Administration at Harvard University. He also attended the Naval War College in the United States.[1]

Military career

Lai enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in January 1992 and served in the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN)'s missile corvettes. He served on board the RSS Valour as a junior officer and later as the Executive Officer before assuming command of the RSS Valiant from 2002–2004. He was appointed as the Commander of the Missile Corvette Squadron in July 2007 and later as the Fleet Commander in April 2011.[1]

Lai also concurrently held a number of staff appointments in the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), including: Head of Long Term Planning Secretariat, Office of the Chief of Defence Force; Office Director, Future Systems Directorate; Director (Policy), Ministry of Defence (2007–2010); Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Defence (2012–2014).[1]

Lai was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral (two stars) on 1 July 2014. He succeeded Ng Chee Peng as the Chief of Navy on 1 August 2014.[1][2]

Lai step down as Chief of Navy with RADM Lew Chuen Hong (formerly Chief Of Staff-Naval Staff) take over the command on Change of Command Parade held at RSS Singapura – Changi Naval Base on 16 June 2017 morning.[3]

Non-military career

Lai is also a member of the board of ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems)[4] and a member of the Board of Governors of Temasek Polytechnic.[1]

Lai was appointed as Ministry of Education's Second Permanent Secretary since June 19, 2017.[5]

Personal life

Lai is married to Ng Chiew Yen. They have two children.[1]

Awards

• Public Administration Medal (Silver) (Military), in 2010.[1]

References

1. "SAF Leadership". MINDEF. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
2. Loke, Kok Fai (1 August 2014). "Singapore Navy welcomes new chief". Channel News Asia. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
3. "New Chief of Navy at the Helm" (Press release). Ministry of Defence of Singapore. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
4. "Company Overview of ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) Pte Ltd". Bloomberg. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
5. "Singapore Navy chief Lai Chung Han to step down, Rear-Admiral Lew Chuen Hong taking over". The Straits Times. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.

Military offices
Preceded by Rear-Admiral Ng Chee Peng	Chief of the Republic of Singapore Navy 1 August 2014 – 16 June 2017	Succeeded by Rear-Admiral Lew Chuen Hong