SINGAPORE Lee Kuan Yew’s youngest son declares refugee in Britain

In the confrontation between the sons of the founding father of the modern city-state, Lee Hsien Yang denounces “a well-founded risk of persecution” and affirms that he cannot “return safely to Singapore.” His brother, prime minister until last May, is in the spotlight. The executive rejects all accusations.

Singapore () – Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest son of the late founder of modern Singapore Lee Kuan Yew, claimed on Tuesday that he is a political refugee, in the latest twist in a high-profile dispute in the city’s most famous family. state.

In a post on Facebook, Lee said Britain has ruled that it is at “a well-founded risk of persecution and cannot safely return to Singapore.” «I have requested asylum as a last resort. “I am still a Singaporean citizen and I hope that one day it will be safe to return home,” he said. The Singapore government responded by calling the allegation of persecution baseless and baseless.

Lee and his sister Lee Wei Ling, who died on October 9, were estranged from their influential older brother, Lee Hsien Loong, who was prime minister for two decades, until last May. At the root of the disagreements are disagreements over the future of the management of his father’s household after his death in 2015. Lee Hsien Yang, 67, aligned himself with an opposition party during the 2020 elections and last year He said he was considering running for president of Singapore.

Last week, Lee Hsien Yang said he would ask for the demolition of his father’s house in accordance with his wishes. The government responded that it would look into real estate issues in due course. Lee Hsien Loong believes it is up to the Government to decide what to do with it, including whether it should be preserved as a historical monument.

In 2017, Lee Hsien Yang and his sister said they had lost faith in their older brother, accusing him of abusing his power and fearing that “state organs” could be used against them. Lee Hsien Loong rejected the allegations, in what was a rare criticism of a Singaporean leader. In May, his brother was ordered to pay damages to two cabinet ministers in a defamation trial over their online posts that the government said contained falsehoods about a dispute over the ministers’ rental of state property. .