TAN 

Zhi Peng Benny

Benny graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2012 and was placed on the Dean’s List in his final undergraduate year. He has also received interdisciplinary training from his MPhil in Criminological Research from the University of Cambridge, for which he was awarded the Manuel López-Rey Graduate Prize (2019) for being overall top student across both Mphil programmes offered by the Cambridge Institute of Criminology.

Between mid-2012 to mid-2014, Benny was a Deputy Public Prosecutor and State Counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers. To support the pro bono cause and to continue to hone his legal skills, between 2016 to 2018 Benny has also acted, on a pro bono and ad-hoc basis, as defence counsel in criminal cases and appeals.

Benny joined NUS Faculty of Law in mid-2014. He has taught legal skills courses to both undergraduate and graduate students, and currently teaches evidence law and criminal law. His areas of research specialisation include criminal law (in particular sentencing law and policy), and criminal evidence and procedure. He actively supervises and mentors in various student pro bono projects in the faculty.

For displaying high teaching standards and commitment to teaching excellence, Benny has been awarded the NUS Faculty of Law Teaching Excellence Award (AY15/16, 17/18, 19/20, 21/22), as well as the NUS Annual Teaching Excellence Award (AY17/18). He is currently a Fellow with the NUS Teaching Academy.

Benny is the author of Foundations of Criminal Law in Singapore (Academy Publishing, 2022). He has also published articles in various peer-reviewed journals, and his work has been cited by the various courts in Singapore. He thrice won the Best Feature Article prize awarded by the Law Society of Singapore, Law Gazette (2015, 2016 and 2021). Benny has been appointed independent counsel (formerly known as amicus curiae) by the High Court and Court of Appeal (Singapore) to assist the respective court in cases involving novel or complex issues of the law.

• Criminal Law (with particular focus on sentencing issues)
• Law of Evidence & Criminal Procedure
• Pedagogy
• Statutory Interpretation
• Psychology of Judgment & Decision-Making