“ELABORATE EDIFICE OF LIES”
In pushing for the house to be torn down, Mr Lee Hsien Yang has repeatedly cited his father’s last will, executed in 2013. The will stated that the late Mr Lee wanted the house to be demolished, and if that were not possible, the property should be closed to everyone except family and descendants.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s long-time lawyer was not involved in preparing the last will.
In 2020, the Court of Three Judges, led by the Chief Justice, found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, had procured the execution of the last will with “unseemly haste (that) can only be described as improper and unacceptable”.
A disciplinary tribunal also found Mrs Lee guilty of misconduct over the handling of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s last will.
On Friday, the government spokesperson added that Mr Lee Hsien Yang chose not to mention that he and his wife had misled Mr Lee Kuan Yew on the execution of his last will.
The couple were also found to have lied under oath.
The disciplinary tribunal and the Court of Three Judges said that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and Mrs Lee Suet Fern had presented “an elaborate edifice of lies … both on oath … and through their public and other statements”, the government spokesperson noted.
“The affidavits were contrived to present a false picture. Several of the lies were quite blatant,” the government spokesperson said.
“Mr Lee Hsien Yang’s continued allegations must be seen in this light.”
The government added that it is trying to keep options open and give time for current and future generations of Singaporeans to decide on what to do with the former home of the late Mr Lee.
Options include demotion or preservation of all or part of 38 Oxley Road.
“Instead of closing all options now, we should keep the options open and consider them carefully, in the fullness of time, taking into account Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s wishes, the historical value of the site and what it can mean for current and future generations of Singaporeans,” said the statement.
Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife have been out of Singapore since 2022 after deciding not to attend a scheduled police interview over potential offences of giving false evidence in judicial proceedings regarding the will of his father.
He said on Oct 22 that he is now a political refugee in the United Kingdom after seeking asylum protection in 2022.
In response to media queries from The Guardian about Mr Lee’s asylum status, the Singapore government said there is “no basis” to allegations of “a campaign of persecution” against him as well as other claims about political repression in the country.