The Attorney-General's Chambers has flagged a possible case of misconduct involving Lee Suet Fern, wife of Lee Hsien Yang and the former managing partner of law firm Morgan Lewis Stamford (previously Stamford Law Corporation).

In a statement to the media on Jan. 7, AGC said that the case has been referred to the Law Society.

Preparation of Lee Kuan Yew's last will

Suet Fern, the wife of Lee Hsien Yang and sister-in-law of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, was allegedly involved in the preparation of the last will of Lee Kuan Yew.

AGC stated that it "appeared" that Suet Fern had prepared Lee Kuan Yew's last will, and got him to execute it.

If so, this would possibly represent professional misconduct as her husband Hsien Yang stood to gain from the will, having been named as one of its beneficiaries.

AGC noted that Hsien Yang's share increased under the terms of the last will, although it did not state by how much.

Law by law

AGC said that according to the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules, lawyers are required to stop themselves from being placed in a position of conflict.

• If someone intends to make a significant gift by a will to any member of a lawyer's family, that lawyer must not act for that person.
• The lawyer should advise him or her to obtain independent advice in respect of the gift.
• This applies even if the lawyer is related to the person making the gift.

AGC added that Suet Fern's conduct appeared to be in breach of Rules 25 and 46 of the Professional Conduct Rules.

Who drafted the last will?

It also noted that Hsien Yang had previously said publicly that Suet Fern did not draft Lee Kuan Yew's Last Will.

He named Kwa Kim Li of M/s Lee and Lee as the person who did it.

However, Kwa has denied this.

AGC said it had written to Suet Fern "several times" since October 2018 to ask her to explain her position.

It also assured her that if she had "good explanations" for her conduct, the matter would end.

It claimed that despite asking for extensions of time to respond, Suet Fern did not answer the questions that AGC asked.

What's next

AGC said that by referring the case to the Law Society, it was not making any findings on the merits of the case.

It clarified that the AGC does not determine guilt or innocence.

As Attorney-General Lucien Wong has recused himself from this case, it is being handled by Deputy Attorney-General Lionel Yee.

Wong used to be the personal lawyer of PM Lee.

Yee has further requested that the case be referred to a Disciplinary Tribunal.

AGC stated that Suet Fern is entitled to make her case to the Tribunal, which will be appointed by the Chief Justice.

The Tribunal will investigate the matter, determine if there was misconduct, and if so, determine what action should be taken.

On Jan. 6, Hsien Yang's sister Lee Wei Ling criticised the AGC over the complaint to the Law Society.

She said that the lodging of "over 500 pages" of complaint "is an unprecedented use of such legal process involving a private will".

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