Lam has four siblings - two brothers and a younger sister. As the middle child, he is quoted to have had to "recycle the secondhand textbooks handed down from elder brother." He grew up in one of the earliest HDB flats in Tanglin Halt Road. It was a 3-room HDB flat – 2 bedrooms and 1 living room, with only one bedroom being air-conditioned. The house was cramped and the siblings had to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Lam's father was the sole breadwinner as his mother stayed home to look after the four children. All three of his siblings, and him, have graduated from university, supported by their parents. Lam claims he grew up wanting to be a veterinarian, but his parents thought that studying to become a doctor locally would be much cheaper.
Career
Lam served as a regular medical officer in the Singapore Armed Forces in 1995, obtaining a Diploma in Aviation Medicine from the United Kingdom in 1997 and subsequently a Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons and a Master in Medicine in Ophthalmology from the National University of Singapore in 2000. Dr Lam held many appointments in the Republic of Singapore Air Force, including Officer Commanding in an Airbase Medical Centre and as a Branch Head in the RSAF Aeromedical Centre. He also spent 3 months serving as the medical commander of the Singapore Medical Contingent, serving in the United Nations Military Hospital in East Timor during pre-independence in 2000. Lam was trained as an Aviation Medicine Specialist and served the RSAF as a medical officer and Flight Surgeon from 1995 to 2003, before moving into clinical practice in 2003. Prior to becoming a Minister of State, he served as a pediatric ophthalmologist at KK Women's and Children's Hospital,the Singapore National Eye Centre, and Eagle Eye Centre. Lam sits on the Civil Aviation Medical Board and is the Adviser to the Society of Aviation Medicine, Singapore.
In January 2015, Lam was involved in a controversy wherein Build-To-Order residents in Fernvale Lea, in his Sengkang West ward, were not informed of plans to build a columbarium next to their block. During a meeting with residents, Dr Lam was spotted sitting alongside the contractors, leading to a misunderstanding that he was on their side instead of the residents’. Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan informed Parliament that there will be no commercial columbarium at the site. In February 2018 it was revealed that Lam had sent an appeal letter directly to State Courts to help his resident, Tang Ling Lee, who was sentenced to one week jail for seriously injuring a motorcyclist in a road traffic accident. The High Court Judge, justice See Kee Oon dismissed the appeal, stating that Lam's letter had misrepresented the facts and trivialised the injuries sustained by the rider. This incident led to a furor online with many netizens questioning why Lam, a legislative as well as an executive member of the government, was overstepping his duty by interfering with the judiciary. Such letters should be forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Chambers first.
Education
Lam was educated in Anglo-Chinese School and National Junior College . He graduated from the medical school of the National University of Singapore in 1993. He then joined the Singapore Armed Forces as a regular medical officer in 1995. Whilst in service in the Singapore Armed Forces, he obtained his postgraduate Diploma in Aviation Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians in 1997 and subsequently a Fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons and a Master in Medicine in Ophthalmology from NUS in 2000.
Personal life
Lam is married and has two daughters. He is a Christian.
