S'pore govt rebuts Lee Hsien Yang's reasons for seeking asylum in UK, says persecution claims baseless

The Singapore government responded to a media query from UK publication The Guardian over Lee Hsien Yang's application for political asylum in the UK.

"There are no legal restraints on Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern returning to Singapore. They are and have always been free to return to Singapore," said Andrea Goh, a senior director at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).

Lee Hsien Yang says he is a "political refugee"

Lee Hsien Yang announced on Oct. 22, 2024, on Facebook that he is a "political refugee from Singapore", citing the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951.

He claimed that he sought asylum protection in 2022, cited "attacks" against him by the Singapore government, including disciplinary proceedings against his wife, Lee Suet Fern, and referred to a police investigation.

He further claimed: "On the basis of these facts, the UK has determined that I face a well-founded risk of persecution, and cannot safely return to Singapore."

Lee Hsien Yang did not attend the recent funeral of his late sister, Lee Wei Ling, in person, although the Singapore Police Force clarified that there are no legal restraints preventing Lee and his wife from returning to Singapore.

The Guardian's media query to PMO

Also, on Oct. 22, the Singapore government shared a copy of the query from The Guardian.

Sent by Tom Burgis on Oct. 20 and addressed to the Prime Minister's Office, The Guardian said it was considering publishing a story about the UK granting political asylum to Lee Hsien Yang.

Based on their information, The Guardian is considering reporting that both Lee and his wife have been granted asylum and claimed they have been the "victim of a campaign of persecution by the Singapore government".

The query further claimed that this campaign "has been overseen by the ruling PAP and Lee Hsien Loong, both while he was prime minister and in his current role as senior minister, in which capacity he retains significant influence in Singapore".

The Guardian also further claimed that Lee Hsien Yang and his family "have been targeted by the Singaporean government because of his outspoken criticism of the PAP and of Lee Hsien Loong."

It added, "The PAP and the Singaporean government view Lee Hsien Yang as a credible political threat in Singapore, owing to his status as the son of Lee [Kuan] Yew."

SG govt reply

Goh's reply, which was released to several media outlets, stated: "Your proposition that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his family are victims of “baseless” and “unfounded” persecution is itself without basis."

In reference to specific court proceedings from 2017 to 2020 mentioned by The Guardian, the reply laid out:

"Prior to executing his last will (17 December 2013), the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew executed six wills between 20 August 2011 and 2 November 2012.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew had removed the “demolition clause” regarding his house at 38 Oxley Road from the fifth and sixth drafts of his Will. It was reinserted into the last Will, prepared by Mrs Lee Suet Fern, Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s spouse.

Compared with the sixth draft of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s Will executed on 2 November 2012, the last Will gave Mr Lee Hsien Yang a bigger share of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s estate.

The Court of Three Judges, led by the Chief Justice, found that the couple had cut off the late Lee’s own long-time lawyer in preparing the last Will, and had procured the execution of the last Will with “unseemly haste”, overnight within 16 hours.

They found that Mrs Lee Suet Fern had “acted with complete disregard for the interests” of Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and had “blindly followed the directions of her husband, a significant beneficiary under the very Will whose execution she helped to rush through”.

Both the court and an earlier Disciplinary Tribunal appointed by the Chief Justice to look into Mrs Lee Suet Fern’s professional conduct, found the couple had lied under oath. The Disciplinary Tribunal found that the couple had presented “an elaborate edifice of lies,” both on oath and in public statements."

For a look back at the events surrounding 38 Oxley Road, including Lee Hsien Yang's recent application for its demolishment, you can check out our recap below:

Police investigation

In view of these findings, the police investigated the couple for potential offences of giving false evidence in judicial proceedings.

They approached Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Suet Fern on Jun. 9, 2022. The Lees confirmed with the police on Jun. 13, 2022 that they would be interviewed on Jul. 13, 2022.

But on Jul. 13, they did not show up, and informed the police by email that they will not participate in the investigation.

The reply added that there are no legal restraints on the Lees returning to Singapore, they are free to do so and always have been.

Li Shengwu

The Guardian's query also included a reference to Li Shengwu, an economist and son of Lee Hsien Yang, who currently resides in America.

In claiming that there was a "campaign of persecution", The Guardian said there was a "baseless criminal prosecution of Lee Hsien Yang and his eldest son Li Shengwu between 2017 and 2020."

MDDI responded:

"There are no legal restraints to their son, Mr Li Shengwu returning to Singapore.

Mr Li was ordered to pay a fine for contempt of court in August 2020, which he has paid. He is not facing any other Police charges.

The offending statement by Mr Li was similar to one that appeared in the International Herald Tribune in 1994, which was also found to have been in contempt of court.

Mr Li’s grandfather, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, had emphasised then that such statements must be dealt with firmly."

SM Lee recused himself from govt decisions on 38 Oxley Road

MDDI added that Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has long recused himself from all matters relating to 38 Oxley Road.

SM Lee is not involved when Cabinet discusses these matters, nor is he consulted by any government agency in any decision pertaining to his family members.

MDDI added: "The Government is taking into account Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s views on 38 Oxley Road. While he preferred demolition, he was also willing to consider other options such as refurbishing and redesigning the interior."

Rebuts other allegations about S'pore

MDDI also said that "Singapore’s judiciary is impartial and makes decisions independently" and that "Singaporeans have a high level of trust in the judiciary".

MDDI pointed out that Singapore was ranked fifth in the 2023 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index and third in the 2023 World Justice Project Index "for the absence of corruption in its legal and law enforcement systems".

"In Singapore, no one is above the law. Anyone, including the offspring of the founding prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, can be investigated and brought before the courts," said MDDI.

It also said that "Singapore has a robust system to deter and tackle money laundering and other illicit financial flows, which is consistent with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force", pointing out that Singapore ranked fourth in the Global Financial Centres Index 2024.

MDDI also rejected the assertion that "the benefits of Singapore’s economic growth are concentrated in the hands of PAP leaders, and their allies are far from the lived experience of Singaporeans".

MDDI cited reasons including that more than 80 per cent of Singaporeans live in public housing, the vast majority own of their own homes, nine in 10 patients pay less than S$500 for subsidised public hospital stay, and 90 per cent of public education costs are subsidised.

It also said that Singapore was the top-performing education system in Creative Thinking among 64 participating systems according to the 2022 results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Singapore students from homes with lower socio-economic status outperformed the average student in OECD countries.

MDDI said Singapore also ranked first in ASEAN and ninth out of all countries in the United Nations’ Human Development Index 2022.

"Real wages of the 20th percentile worker have risen cumulatively by 30% over the past 10 years, faster than that of the median worker at 22 per cent. The Gini coefficient has improved in the last two decades, and redistributive policies have reduced income inequality further," said MDDI.

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Top image from Guardian/Facebook and Mothership