Singapore probes ‘doctored’ statement announcing death of former PM Lee Kuan Yew

The Singapore government Wednesday quashed rumours that ailing former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew had died and asked police to investigate a “doctored” statement on his passing.

The 91-year-old Asian statesman is in critical condition at a government hospital six weeks after being confined for severe pneumonia, according to an official health update.

“There is an image of a doctored statement supposedly from the prime minister’s office. It is fake,” a government spokesperson said.

“The prime minister’s office is lodging a police report over the fake statement about Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s passing,” which will trigger an investigation, the spokesperson added.

A screenshot purportedly of a statement on the government’s website announcing Lee’s death was widely circulated via social media and mobile messaging services late on Wednesday.

At least two international news organisations issued news alerts based on the fake statement, which they later retracted. CNN tweeted news of the death and later reported it to be a hoax.