By Carolyn Quek

THE National University of Singapore's law faculty has set up a scholarship in memory of lawyer Lo Hwei Yen, exactly one year after she was killed in last year's Mumbai terror attacks.

Ms Lo, 28, who graduated from the faculty in 2003, was shot dead by terrorists on Nov 27, amid the mayhem caused by the series of attacks that claimed 166 lives.

She was the first Singaporean to fall victim to international terrorism.

The lawyer, who was on a two-day visit to speak at a business seminar, was staying at the Oberoi Trident on the evening of the Nov 26 attacks.

That night, marauding gunmen stormed parts of Mumbai - including the Oberoi - taking many, including Ms Lo, hostage.

Her body was found hours after the attacks on the 19th floor of the five-star hotel. Her husband Michael Puhaindran had flown to Mumbai from Singapore to identify the body.

Mr Puhaindran, 38, and her loved ones will be holding a memorial service for Ms Lo's first death anniversary at the St Mary of the Angels Catholic church today, where her ashes are interred.

On the scholarship, Mr Puhaindran, a legal counsel, said: 'Law school is a place that holds a special place in our hearts. Given its significance to both of us, this scholarship is one good way of remembering her.'

He also said the memorial service will be an opportunity for friends, family and well-wishers to get together to remember his wife and also to help them continue to move forward.

The scholarship, created in her name, will be open to law students moving on to their fourth year of study. The first scholar will be selected for the academic year beginning next August. Applications will open in the second quarter of next year.

The winner of the scholarship will receive $6,000, which will be used towards the payment of his or her tuition fees. The initial endowment amount was pledged by Ms Lo's law firm, Stephenson Harwood.

Said Professor Tan Cheng Han, dean of the NUS Law Faculty: 'Hwei Yen was a bright student and cherished member of the alumni family. We hope that through this scholarship, we can help to keep her memory alive in a positive way.'

Ms Lo's family was glad a scholarship had been set up in her name.

Her sister Hwei Shan, 26, said her parents were happy about the scholarship because it was a good way of remembering their daughter.

'You can do a lot of things to remember a person but this is something that gives back to someone else,' said the editor at a publishing firm.

'My sister was pretty blessed in the time she had (in law school), with the friends that she had, and the experiences she had. So it's good that someone else can have that too.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.