The first ethnic Chinese person to serve as Hong Kong's chief justice, Yang Ti-liang, died at the age of 93 on Saturday.

Born in Shanghai in 1929, Yang studied law at Soochow University and University College London before being called to the English Bar in London in 1954 and beginning public service in Hong Kong as a magistrate in 1956.

During his judicial career, Yang was tasked to look into a rainstorm disaster in 1972 that killed more than 150 people, and presided over the corruption trial of Peter Fitzroy Godber, a notorious former chief superintendent of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force.

He was promoted to the High Court in 1975, and was appointed Justice of Appeal five years later.

In 1988, Yang received a knighthood and was also appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong – the only ethnic Chinese judge to hold the top post in the judiciary before the territory's return to the motherland. The use of Chinese as an official language in court was also introduced during his tenure.

Eight years later, he resigned from the job to take part in the election to be the SAR's first chief executive.

He eventually lost to Tung Chee-hwa, but served as a member of the Executive Council from 1997 to 2002. Yang was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal by the SAR government in 1999.

Starting in 2003, he hosted his own RTHK radio programme called "Yang Ti-liang Mail Box", in which he taught English grammar. The show ran until September 2017.

In a statement, Chief Executive John Lee expressed deep condolences.

"Sir Ti-liang was a luminary in Hong Kong's legal community and had made exemplary contributions to upholding the rule of law and to Hong Kong society," Lee said.

"Sir Ti-liang has all along been committed to the community of Hong Kong and has made dedicated contributions to the development of charitable affairs and higher education. His eminent contributions will be remembered for a long time."

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam and Chief Justice Andrew Cheung also expressed their sorrow over Yang's passing.