Cecil William Victor Carey

Cecil William Victor Carey
Carey in 1940
Acting Chief Justice of Singapore
In office
April 1946 – June 1946
Preceded bySir Percy Alexander McElwaine
Succeeded bySir Charles Murray-Aynsley
Personal details
Born6 October 1887
Died29 October 1976 (aged 89)
NationalityIrish
Children2 daughters
Alma materUniversity of Dublin
ProfessionBarrister and colonial judge

Cecil William Victor Carey (6 October 1887 –  29 October 1976) was an Irish barrister and colonial judge who served as acting Chief Justice of Singapore in 1946.

Early life and education

Carey was born on 6 October 1887 at Dublin, the second son of William Carey, solicitor. He was educated at Trinity College, University of Dublin where he received his BA and LLB, and in 1910 was called to the Irish Bar by King's Inns, Dublin.[1][2]

Career

Carey began his career practising at the Irish Bar serving from 1910 to 1915. In 1915, he joined the Colonial Service and went to Africa where he served for 25 years in various posts. From 1915 to 1921, he served in Uganda, first as assistant district officer and later as magistrate. He then transferred to Nigeria as Crown Counsel, and in 1930, was appointed a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, remaining in office until 1940 while also serving on occasion as acting Solicitor General of Nigeria.[1][2]

Carey then went to British Malaya where he served as puisne judge of the Supreme Court of the Straits Settlements from 1940 to 1946.[3] In 1941, he passed a sentence of death on a woman, a rare event at the time, after she had been found guilty of murder,[4] and in 1946, passed the first death sentence under the Mountbatten Proclamation.[5] During the Japanese occupation he was interned in Malaya from 1942 to 1945. After the War, on the re-opening of the Supreme Court of Singapore, he was appointed acting Chief Justice, Singapore,[6] serving from April to June 1946, and from 1946 to 1948, served as judge of the Supreme Court of the Malayan Union. He retired in 1948.[1]

Personal life and death

Carey married Lucy Stokes who died in 1922. They had two daughters. Later, he married Isabella Morrison who died in 1932.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d None (1981). Who was who, 1971-1980 : a companion to Who's who, containing the biographies of those who died during the decade 1971-1980. Internet Archive. New York : St. Martin's Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-312-87746-0.
  2. ^ a b "New judges for the Colony". The Straits Budget. 19 December 1940. p. 18.
  3. ^ "New S.S. Judge". The Straits Times. 16 August 1940. p. 11.
  4. ^ "Man & niece sentenced". The Straits Times. 8 May 1941. p. 11.
  5. ^ "Gunman dies on gallows". The Straits Times. 30 December 1946. p. 15.
  6. ^ "Reopening of Singapore's Supreme Court". Malaya Tribune. 9 April 1946. p. 4.