Singapore's founding PM's second son, daughter-in-law face police probe for lying under oath about his last will

Singapore, Mar 2 (PTI) Singapore founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s second son and daughter-in-law are being investigated by the police for the potential offence of giving false evidence in judicial proceedings over Lee's will, a senior minister said on Thursday.

Lee Hsien Yang, the brother of the city-state's current Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, and his lawyer wife, Lee Suet Fern, misled the founding Prime Minister regarding his last will’s execution, and lied under oath, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean said.

Citing the findings of the Court of Three Judges and a disciplinary tribunal, Hean said, "Mrs Lee 'focused primarily on what her husband wanted done,' and 'worked together with Mr Lee Hsien Yang, with a singular purpose, of getting Mr Lee Kuan Yew to execute the last will quickly'." "Mr Lee Kuan Yew 'ended up signing a document which was in fact not that which he had indicated he wished to sign'," he said, according to the report.

The court and disciplinary tribunal also found that Yang and his wife Fern lied under oath during the proceedings.

In 2020, Fern was suspended from practice by the Court of Three Judges for 15 months after being found guilty of misconduct over the handling of the founding PM's last will.

The couple, initially agreeing to an interview requested by the police as part of the investigation, refused to attend it, and have since left Singapore, Channel News Asia said.

Hean said the couple's refusal to participate raises questions.

"If they maintain their innocence, the investigation will give them the chance to vindicate themselves. They should participate, take the full opportunity to give their side of the story, and clear their names," he said.

The Senior Minister was responding to a question filed by a Member of Parliament about an e-book by Sudhir Thomas Vadeketh titled The Battle Over Lee Kuan Yew's Last Will.

Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore, died on March 23, 2015, at the age of 92. PTI GS GRS GRS