Son of Singapore's founder says he has been granted political asylum in the UK

LONDON (AP) — Lee Hsien Yang, the estranged brother of former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said Tuesday that he's now a “political refugee” after the U.K. government granted him asylum from what he described as persecution at home.

The Lee brothers are the sons of Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father. They have been engaged in a public spat since 2017 over the late patriarch’s family home, and Lee Hsien Yang has accused Singapore's government of persecuting him, his wife and his son.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, he said that he sought asylum protection in 2022 “as a last resort.”

“The Singapore government’s attacks against me are in the public record. They prosecuted my son, brought disciplinary proceedings against my wife, and launched a bogus police investigation that has dragged on for years,” he wrote. “On the basis of these facts, the U.K. has determined that I face a well-founded risk of persecution and cannot safely return to Singapore.”

“I remain a Singapore citizen and hope that someday it will become safe to return home,” he added.

The Guardian published an interview with Lee Hsien Yang on Tuesday in which he strongly criticized the Singapore government and alleged it facilitated money laundering.

“People need to look beyond Singapore’s bold, false assertions and see what the reality really is like," he was quoted as saying. “There is a need for the world to look more closely, to see Singapore’s role as that key facilitator for arms trades, for dirty money, for drug monies, crypto money.”

The Singapore government said in a statement there was no basis to the allegations in the Guardian's report. The city-state has a “robust system to deter and tackle money laundering and other illicit financial flows, which is consistent with international standards,” it said.

“In Singapore, no one is above the law. Anyone, including the offspring of the founding prime minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, can be investigated and brought before the courts,” it added.

Lee Hsien Yang and his sister, Lee Wei Ling, who died earlier this month, accuse their eldest brother of abusing his power to stop them from demolishing the family home according to the wishes of their father, who died in 2015 after leading Singapore with an iron grip for more than three decades.

The family feud saw Lee Hsien Yang and his wife entangled in official investigations over allegations that the pair provided false evidence in judicial proceedings regarding Lee Kuan Yew's will.

Lee Hsien Loong stepped down in May after two decades at the helm. He handed power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong, but still holds a Cabinet post as senior minister.

The U.K. Home Office didn't immediately comment when asked about Lee Hsien Yang's asylum status.

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Eileen Ng reported from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.