Teo Soon Kim
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Teo Soon Kim, also spelled Teow and later Lo-Teo Soon Kim (b. c.1904 or 1905, Singapore - ?) was the first Singaporean woman admitted to the bar of the Straits Settlements and the first woman barrister in Hong Kong. She studied in London and was the second Malayan Chinese woman to qualify as a barrister in England but only practised in Singapore for a short time.
Early life
Teo Soon Kim was the elder daughter of Teochew rubber baron Teo Eng Hock (b. 1871 - d. 1959) and his second wife Tan Sock Gee. Theirs was a prosperous family and they lived in various homes on Beach Street, Prinsep Street, River Valley Road, North Bridge Road and in Woodlands, where her father had a rubber plantation. She was educated at the Methodist Girls' School as her father felt his children would have more opportunities with an English education. After finishing her schooling she then taught at the school for two and a half years.
While girls' education was not a high priority for Chinese families at this time, Teo's father was keen that all of his children should have as good an education as possible: they could lose any money he gave them, he observed, but they could not lose their education. At this time it was unusual for girls to complete their Senior Cambridge examinations and teaching was one of their few career options. But Teo was unconventional like her father and decided to become a lawyer since no woman in Singapore and few in Asia had ever done so. After finding her vocation, she often sat in the public galleries of local courts to watch the cases unfold.
Major accomplishments
Studying in England
With her father's financial support she travelled to England to study law. On her voyage, Teo was looked after by a couple introduced to her family by a missionary. Consequently she converted to Christianity in gratitude, despite her grandmother's warning that she would end up as a "hungry ghost". Once in England she enrolled at the University of London and lived in the area of Finchley.
In May 1924 she was admitted to Inner Temple in London and studied under H.H.L. Bellot, former secretary of the International Law Association. She was called to the bar of England and Wales in June 1927, becoming only the third Malayan Chinese woman to achieve this after Lucy See and Lim Beng Teik. As a student Teo had enjoyed travelling around England to visit friends, and after finishing her studies she undertook an extended tour of the United States and China.
Making history in Singapore and Hong Kong
An amendment to the Straits Settlements courts ordinance in June 1927 made it clear that women were eligible to practise law, though this had never been explicitly prohibited. The following month, Lim Beng Hong of Penang (later better known as Mrs B.H. Oon) was admitted to the roll of advocates and solicitors and became the first woman qualified to practise law in Malaya and Singapore. She came from a family of lawyers and was later followed by her sister Beng Teik.
Upon Teo's return home in late 1928 (as Lo-Teo Soon Kim) she applied to the bar and was sworn in by Justice Dean on 17 June 1929, thus becoming Singapore's first female barrister. Singapore was by no means a trailblazer, as the first female lawyer in the British Empire had been appointed 32 years earlier in Canada. But Asian barristers were still a minority in Singapore and her achievement was seen as a positive example of what young Malayan Chinese women could accomplish. Teo Eng Hock encouraged his younger daughter to pursue this career as well, but after spending some time in a law firm she decided that it was not an appealing vocation.
Teo Soon Kim spent the next two years in China then returned to practise in 1931. Other lawyers welcomed Teo and she had no difficulty getting clients, arguing numerous civil and criminal cases in the lower courts. In 1932 she went to the Supreme Court to argue her most significant case, defending a farmer charged with murder after killing his cousin in a fight. Her debut at the assizes drew an unusually large crowd to the public gallery, including many women and friends who then witnessed Teo succeed in securing her client’s acquittal.
Later that year she won another case at the assizes involving a fatal motor accident but soon thereafter moved to Hong Kong. In August 1932 she became the first woman admitted to the Hong Kong bar, making her a pioneer in two colonies. She was uncertain whether to remain there permanently and details of her subsequent career are unknown.
Family
Siblings: half-brother Teo Ping Keh (whose mother was deceased), and one younger sister Teo Moh Tet. She probably had other younger half-siblings as her father had more than one wife.
Husband: Lo Long Chi (Dr), whom she married at Wesley Church in 1928.
Children: unknown.
First cousin once removed: Teo Cheng Guan (d. 2002), former chairman of the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation.
First cousin twice removed: Rear Admiral (RS) Teo Chee Hean, a Member of Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister.
Author
Duncan Sutherland
References
Abdullah, A. (2005). The legal profession. In K.Y.L. Tan (Ed.), Essays in Singapore legal history (p.201-202). Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Academic and Singapore Academy of Law.
(Call no.: RSING 349.5957 ESS)
Admission papers, ADM/6/80. London: Inner Temple Archives.
(Not available in NLB holdings)
Admission register, ADM/4/34. London: Inner Temple Archives.
(Not available in NLB holdings)
Assizes triumph for Mrs Lo [Microfilm: NL 1438]. (1932, January 9). The Straits Times, pp.12, 16.
Bar book BAR/4/1. London: Inner Temple Archives.
(Not available in NLB holdings)
Blackwell, J. D. (2008). Clara Brett Martin. Retrieved from January 10, 2009, from The Canadian Encyclopedia: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0010698
Chew, D. (Interviewer). (1992, December 23). Oral history interview with Mrs Goh Heng Chong (Cassette Recording No.1392/002/1). Singapore: National Archives of Singapore.
(Not available in NLB holdings)
Chinese woman barrister. (1932, August 16). The Straits Times, p.18. Retrieved July 9, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Epoch-making event. (1927, July 7). The Straits Times, p.10. Retrieved July 9, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Hoon, B. (1948, February 12). Women called to the bar. The Straits Times, p.6. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Malayan personalities - 57 [Microfilm: NL 3940]. The Malaya Tribune. 20 June 1929, p.4.
Negligence that was not criminal. (1932, May 6). Singapore Free Press, p.8. Retrieved July 26, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
New woman barrister admitted. (1934, July 12). Singapore Free Press, p.6. Retrieved July 26, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Our first lady barrister. (1929, June 19). Singapore Free Press, p.11. Retrieved July 26, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Pitt, K.W. (Interviewer). (1985, March 19-21). Oral history interview with Teo Cheng Tee (Cassette Recording No. 538/11/01). Singapore: National Archives of Singapore.
(Not available in NLB holdings)
Social and personal. (1931, June 27). The Straits Times, p.10. Retrieved July 28, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
Straits Budget supplement [Microfilm: NL 2193]. (1932, January 14). The Straits Budget, p.19.
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall Co Ltd. (2001). Famous Singapore Chinese supporters of Sun Yat Sen. Retrieved on January 16, 2009, from http://www.wanqingyuan.com.sg/english/onceupon/spsupp.html
Teo, S. K. (1925, January 27). The Chinese and England. The Straits Times, p.10. Retrieved July 26, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
The wedding of Singapore’s first lady lawyer. (1928, December 22). Malayan Saturday Post, p.15. Retrieved January 28, 2010, from NewspaperSG.
Thian, Y.S., Chong, C.C., & Lim, S. (Eds.). (2002). In session: Supreme court of Singapore: The building, her heritage and her people (p.93). Singapore: Supreme Court.
(Call no.: RSING 347.5957035 IN)
Woman assigned for the defence. (1932, January 8). The Straits Times, p.14. Retrieved July 9, 2011, from NewspaperSG.
List of images
National Library Board Singapore. (n.d.). [Portrait of Miss Teo Soon Kim, the first Chinese woman barrister in Singapore]. Retrieved July 15, 2011, from sgebooks.nl.sg/image.aspx?id=634813f4-1f45-4dc5-91ee-d5a741c1ea1c
The information in this article is valid as at 2011 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
Subject
Personalities>>Biographies
Teo, Soon Kim
Women lawyers--Singapore--Biography
Law and government