SINGAPORE — Madam Coreen Tan, 36, and her family arrived at 5.30am this morning (March 26) to join the queues of people waiting to pay their final respects to former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, whose body is lying in state at the Parliament House.

Mdm Tan, who works in a church and had to report to work by 8.30am, arrived early to get around her work schedule. She was accompanied by her 41-year old husband Matthew Quek and her 12-year-son, who had to report to work and school this morning as well.

Mdm Tan were among thousands of Singaporeans who queued in the wee hours of this morning around the Parliament House. Apart from private transport, many came via MRT trains which are now running round the clock to cater to the overwhelming response.

Compared to the crowd yesterday, when queues to Parliament House reached as far as Fort Canning and Boat Quay, the overnight queues were relatively shorter and fast moving.

Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) student James Leong, 22, arrived to queue at 1am and waited 2.5 hours before he could enter the Parliament House. He relied on the MRT to reach the Parliament House. “My schedule is full. My lessons are from 9am to 6pm,” he said.

Lawyer Gerald Tan, 30, woke up at 4am in the morning and arrived at the Esplanade bridge in office attire.

“I thought this was the best time to avoid long waiting times. I only waited about 45 minutes,” said Mr Tan, adding that he will be heading straight to work at 9am.

Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel were also seen setting up metal fences and tentage on the Pandang at around 430am. Shortly before dawn, the authorities started directing incoming visitors to a new queue at the Padang. The authorities also continued water distribution to visitors overnight.