Stress, pressure make judge quit

The struggle to remain independent and having to constantly go against his superiors had caused controversial High Court judge Ian Chin immense work pressure and finally prompted him to opt for an early retirement.

Chin, who had revealed the alleged existence of a "boot camp" for judges revealed this in a statement distributed after attending a farewell gathering with Kota Kinabalu High Court staff yesterday.

"Suffice for me to say that all too often, I found myself in circumstances where I had to make a stand which may be regarded as in defiance to a directive or instruction from my superior, which was very stressful to me," he said.

The 60-year-old, who is currently on two months’ leave, tendered his resignation on July 16 and will leave office on Dec 1.

Chin came to prominence when he made explosive allegations that former premier Mahathir Mohamad had threatened and intimidated judges into making pro-government decisions when he was in office.

The allegations were then followed by a war of words between Chin and Mahathir, who had denied the accusations in his blog.

Chin had also described Mahathir as a 'devil incarnate' in remarks made openly in court during an election petition hearing filed by a DAP candidate in Sarawak against his victorious BN opponent.

Describing his early retirement as a resignation, Chin noted that only judges who had served for 15 years were entitled to full pension and this had prompted him to forgo an overseas job opportunity.

"I started as a judicial commissioner on March 1, 1992 and was made judge in August 1993. This meant I would have served 15 years as a judge after August 2008.

"It was not until Aug 22, 2008, that the law was amended to regard the period served as judicial commissioner as having served as a judge. I was of the view that I was giving up too much and so I forewent that opportunity," he said.

He added that his leave was approved for two months from September to November, giving him the right to a full pension without having to set an exact date for retirement.

However, Chin said that when he was assigned to the election case "that had resulted in a such a furore", it made him decide to set and early exit date.

"The furore added to my unhappiness to continue working as a judge," he said.