Professor Chao Tzee Cheng (; 22 September 1934 in Hong Kong – 21 February 2000 in New York City) was a renowned forensic pathologist in Singapore. Chao was respected for solving several notorious crimes in Singapore, and raised Singapore's level of professionalism in the area of forensics. Biography Early life and education Chao Tzee Cheng was the son of a professor in cultural studies and a school principal. Of Cantonese origin, he later migrated to Singapore with his parents and received his education at Catholic High School and Victoria Continuation School. Although offered a scholarship to read engineering in the United States, he decided to take up medicine at University of Hong Kong. After graduating with an MBBS in Hong Kong in 1961, Chao returned to Singapore to serve as a medical officer. Chao also took a Diploma in Clinical Pathology in 1967, followed by a Diploma of Pathology in 1968 and a Diploma of Medical Jurisprudence in 1968. However, a car accident in West Malaysia left him with a weakened right arm and dashed his hopes of a career in surgery. Unfazed, Professor Chao turned to a career in pathology. By 1968, Chao qualified as a pathologist, obtaining his specialised skills from the Royal London Hospital, Medical College, currently under the Queen Mary, University of London. Chao married Joyce Wong Yoke Choy in 1963. They had a son Dr Alexandre Chao, who succumbed to SARS in 2003. Career Upon his return to Singapore, Chao was appointed the forensic pathologist at the Department of Pathology in the Ministry of Health. Almost immediately, Chao was involved in his first case as a pathologist. He was invited to be an expert witness in the murder case of Koh Liang Chuen in 1969. The notoriety of this case raised Chao's standing as a forensic expert in the region. His forensic expertise and duties extended beyond Singapore to countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong and even certain states of West Africa. In his career, Chao performed over 25,000 autopsies and was the authoritative expert witness in many unsolved murder cases worldwide. His forensic capability was demonstrated in the investigation of mass disasters such as the Spyros blast, the Singapore Cable Car tragedy, the Hotel New World disaster and the SilkAir Flight 185 tragedy. He also helped solve notorious crimes in the annals of Singapore criminal law, such as the Adrian Lim cult murders, the Scripps