Dispute with PM Lee no ‘private family affair’: Lee Wei Ling

SINGAPORE – The Lee siblings would not have publicised their dispute with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Long over their late father’s house had it been “merely a family affair”, said Dr Lee Wei Ling in her latest Facebook post in the wee hours of Thursday morning (June 15).

In it, she said that PM Lee’s alleged “use of power to abuse his siblings, who could fight back” was the crux of their message. If he could do that, she claimed, there was no telling “what else he could do to ordinary citizens”.

Writing from Scotland, where she is on holiday, Dr Lee said that her lawyer edited that part of the message out.

The note, posted at around 2 am Singapore time, also alleged that PM Lee had sought to “punish” his brother, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, for “blocking what he wants to do with the house”. PM Lee did this, she said, by insisting that his brother donate 50 per cent of the market value of the house – on top of the full market value he paid for it – to charity.

“My father had told us, his children, repeatedly, that being family property, there is no need to donate to charity if Oxley were sold,” she added.

Mr Lee Hsien Yang, in a separate Facebook post on Thursday, accused PM Lee of adopting differing positions on the property in public and private.

He listed several instances of PM Lee’s statements in public about the house. These were juxtaposed against what he claims were positions held by the Prime Minister in private.

On Wednesday, Dr Lee and Mr Lee Hsien Yang alleged in a six-page statement that they felt “threatened” in trying to fulfil their late father’s wish to demolish their family home at 38 Oxley Road — to the extent that the younger Mr Lee feels he is forced to leave the country.

They also said they have “no confidence” in their brother and “worry for Singapore”. The published statement, Dr Lee said, was carefully vetted by their lawyers and hence not in her own voice.

PM Lee has denied the allegations, adding that his siblings’ statement has hurt their father’s legacy.

“I am very disappointed that my siblings have chosen to issue a statement publicising private family matters. I am deeply saddened by the unfortunate allegations that they have made. Ho Ching and I deny these allegations,” PM Lee said.