Chao Hick Tin SC (born 27 September 1942) is a Singaporean former judge who served as the fourth attorney-general of Singapore between 2006 and 2008.
Chao was appointed the Head of the Civil Division in the Attorney-General's Chambers in 1982 and held that post until his elevation to the Supreme Court bench on 1 October 1987 as Judicial Commissioner.
[3] On 5 Jan 2018, Chao was appointed senior judge of the Supreme Court for three years,[4] followed by another two-year term commencing 5 January 2021.
[6] Throughout his tenure as a judge, Chao was known to be the judge presiding over several landmark cases, including the 2015 landmark ruling of Kho Jabing, a former death row inmate who was sentenced to life imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane in a re-trial for the 2008 murder of construction worker Cao Ruyin, after the legal reforms allowed judges to have the power to sentence those convicted of murder with no intention to kill to life in prison or death.
This ruling also coined the main sentencing guidelines for murder under the new death penalty laws of Singapore.