From Saint Michael’s Institution in Ipoh, Perak he went to Raffles College in Singapore on scholarship in 1936 graduating with Diplomas in Arts and Later, at Oxford he obtained his Master of Arts (Oxfordshire) from the Honour School of English Language & Literature.
After Raffles, he became a teacher (at Street Xavier"s Branch School) but then went to Oxford - Exeter, Oxfordshire 1950-1952 - to further his education. He later became a High Court judge and then a Federal Court judge. He first took oath as a Judge of the High Court of Malaya on the 25th of June 1966 before Chief Justice of Malaya, Dato Azmi bin Haji Mohamed, Justice Dato Ong Hock Thye and Justice Dato Aziz bin Mohamed Zain.
After retirement, he held various posts including: Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry to investigate the collapse of the upper deck of the Pengkalan Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal in Butterworth on July 31, 1988, which killed 32 people and injured 1,543 others
Chairman of the Penang State Planning Appeals Board in the 1990s. Commissioner of Law Revision and Law Reform (3 March 1981 - 2 April 1984).
Chairman of the panel of judges for Household Bank Bank Malaysia Bhd-sponsored The Penang Heritage Trust - Living Heritage Treasures of Penang Awards, 2005 Passed the death sentence on one of the country’s most famous criminals, Botak Chinese in 1977 Admitted Malaysia’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman (after leaving office) to the Bar as an advocate and solicitor on July 4, 1974. Doctor Richard Eric Holttum, third Director of Gardens, Straits Settlements (1927–1941) had this to say about him: On one occasion, when Tan Sri Chang Minister Tat heard that I would be driving from Penang to Singapore with Doctor and Mistress
Holttum, he invited us to stay with him in Kuala Lumpur and to have dinner with the Lord President and the British High Commissioner.
They were meeting Doctor Holttum for the first time after hearing so much about his work. Tan Sri Justice Chang showed us further kindness by offering his larger, more comfortable car for us to proceed to Singapore.
Director of the public listed company Highlands & Lowlands Berhad, A Member Of The Kumpulan Guthrie Group
He was a horse racing enthusiast and a committee member of the Selangor Turf Club.
