Lee Hsien Yang has turned 'personal vendetta' into international smear campaign: Govt

Mr Lee Hsien Yang has turned a "personal vendetta" into an international smear campaign against his father, family and country, said the Singapore Government on Oct 31.

- Kok Yufeng

Responding to an interview that Mr Lee gave to the Associated Press (AP) - his second with international media in slightly more than a week - the Government refuted his claims that Singapore has become more repressive and that corruption here has worsened.

Mr Lee, who was granted political asylum in Britain in August, claimed in his interview with the American news agency that the authorities here have "weaponised" the country's laws against critics, and that a growing number of Singaporeans are fleeing abroad to seek protection from the Government.

He had earlier aired similar grievances against the Republic in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian.

He has also been vocal on social media about the Government, especially in relation to 38 Oxley Road, the site of his late father Lee Kuan Yew's house.

Questions over the fate of the house resurfaced after the death of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's daughter, Dr Lee Wei Ling, on Oct 9. Dr Lee, the younger sister of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had lived in the house until her death.

Releasing its full response to the AP to local media on Oct 31, the Government said Mr Lee Hsien Yang is a major beneficiary of the Singapore system.

"(He) knows all these facts," it said in its response to AP. "All the examples of alleged corruption that (he) cites have been thoroughly addressed, either through the courts or in Parliament," it added.

It said that what AP should consider when assessing the credibility of his claims were conclusions from a Disciplinary Tribunal and the Court of Three Judges in 2020.