'I will deeply miss Ling': SM Lee mourns death of sister Lee Wei Ling

"She was a fighter," wrote Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong of his late sister Lee Wei Ling, describing her as someone who was "fiercely loyal to friends", "sympathised instinctively with the underdog", and who would act to correct unfairness or wrongdoing.

SM Lee mourned Wei Ling's death in social media posts on Oct. 9, shortly after news broke that she had passed away at home earlier that morning.

Recalling childhood memories

SM Lee recalled childhood memories of his younger sister — who was three years his junior — including his memory of her first day in kindergarten and how she got a "double promotion" to Primary Three after doing well in Primary One.

"She was older than and way ahead of her classmates, and got thoroughly bored in class," wrote SM Lee.

He wrote about how she continued to do well in school, saying that she was "very competitive and very determined," and eventually won a President’s Scholarship.

Chose medicine over becoming a vet

SM Lee also recalled how his late sister "loved animals, especially dogs", and wanted to become a vet.

He said their parents, founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and lawyer Kwa Geok Choo, dissuaded her from doing so.

SM Lee said they told her she would have to check carcasses in the abattoir in addition to looking after pet dogs and cats.

"She took up medicine instead, topping her class at the University of Singapore (now the National University of Singapore) and winning a Gold Medal," wrote SM Lee.

Wei Ling went on to become a paediatric neurologist, specialising in epilepsy.

SM Lee wrote:

"She brought to medicine the same intensity and commitment she did to everything, and developed close bonds with her patients, many of whom she treated over many years."

He revealed that Wei Ling was "the doctor in the family", and would be consulted on "big or small" medical issues — including SM Lee's treatment for lymphoma back in 1992, which Wei Ling took a "close interest" in.

"She was a fighter"

SM Lee wrote:

"Ling’s personality and character remained unchanged throughout her life. She was fiercely loyal to friends, sympathised instinctively with the underdog, and would mobilise actively to do something when she saw unfairness, or suspected wrongdoing. She was a fighter."

He recalled how she had a column in The Sunday Times, where she shared her views "trenchantly and vividly".

"Not everyone agreed with everything she said, but her passion and conviction showed through," wrote SM Lee, recalling how some of these pieces were published in a book, “A Hakka Woman’s Singapore Stories: My life as a daughter, doctor and diehard Singaporean”.

Staying in Oxley Road with her parents

SM Lee said Wei Ling stayed on at the family home in Oxley Road with their parents after her two brothers got married and moved out.

"She kept a watchful eye on their wellbeing as they grew older. She supervised our mother’s care after her strokes. She took care of my father too, who was himself growing older and frailer even as he looked after our mother, and especially after she died in 2010."

SM Lee also recalled how his father had once told him to take care of the family should anything happen to the elder Lee.

He wrote:

"Sadly, after he passed away in 2015, a shadow fell between my siblings and me, and I was unable to fulfil his wish. But I held nothing against Ling, and continued to do whatever I could to ensure her welfare."

Took diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), with "fortitude and stoicism"

SM Lee shared that Wei Ling was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in 2020.

The disease is "similar to but worse than Parkinson’s," he wrote, saying that Wei Ling, a neurologist, had in fact diagnosed herself before the doctors formally did.

"She took it with her usual fortitude and stoicism, and posted about it as one of those things in life to be borne and endured," SM Lee wrote.

He said his sister "made the most of the time she had even as her health declined."

"Now she has left us. I will deeply miss Ling. May she rest in peace," wrote SM Lee.

You can see SM Lee's post in full here:

Ho Ching, SM Lee's wife, has posted "You are now free and at peace", with commentators expressing their condolences for Wei Ling's passing. 

Wei Ling's brother, Lee Hsien Yang, called for no flowers, and encouraged well-wishers to donate to charities which would be "meaningful" for his elder sister.

The charities mentioned are Canossa Mission Singapore, Parkinson Society Singapore and Total Well-Being SG Limited.

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Top photo via Lee Hsien Loong on Facebook