Dr Chew Kim Huat Richard earned his MBBS from the National University of Singapore in 1975 and completed his Master of Medicine in Surgery in 1979. That same year, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. In 1981, he served as a visiting Fellow at Tokyo University Hospital and the Japan Cancer Centre. He later practised at the National University Hospital Singapore before transitioning to private practice in 1987. Dr Chew has also been a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine Singapore since 1984.