SINGAPORE: Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, lawyer Lee Suet Fern, are being investigated by the police for potential offences of giving false evidence in judicial proceedings over Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s will.
As part of the investigations, the police requested an interview with the couple, and they initially agreed to attend the interview, said Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean in a written parliamentary answer on Thursday (Mar 2).
But the couple later had a change of heart and refused to attend the interview, Mr Teo said.
The police have advised them to reconsider taking part in investigations, but they have since left Singapore and remain out of the country.
“The police have also informed them that the necessary steps would be taken to complete the investigations in their absence,” the Senior Minister said, adding that the couple’s refusal to attend the interview was disappointing.
CNA has asked the police for an update on the current state of the investigations.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s brother, and Mr Lee Kuan Yew was their father.
Mr Lee Hsien Loong was embroiled in a dispute with Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, over the fate of their family home at 38 Oxley Road after the death of their father.
In 2020, Mrs Lee was suspended from practice by the Court of Three Judges for 15 months after she was found guilty of misconduct over the handling of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s last will.
On Thursday, Mr Teo – who was chair of the Ministerial Committee on 38 Oxley Road – noted that the Court of Three Judges and a disciplinary tribunal found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee misled Mr Lee Kuan Yew in the context of the last will’s execution, as well as lied under oath.
Mr Teo was responding to a question filed by MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim (PAP-Chua Chu Kang) about an e-book written by Mr Sudhir Thomas Vadeketh, titled The Battle Over Lee Kuan Yew’s Last Will.
The Senior Minister said the couple’s refusal to participate in the police interview 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 added.
“As the investigations are ongoing, I will not say more at this juncture.”