Singapore PM’s nephew defiant as government accuses him of contempt of court
Development threatens to reignite family feud over the estate of the Lion City’s late founding father Lee Kuan Yew
The eldest son of Lee Hsien Yang – the estranged younger brother of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong – has defied an official order by the Singapore government’s lawyers to issue a public apology for a Facebook post about their family feud deemed to be an attack on the Lion City’s judiciary and a contempt of court offence.
The latest development – which could potentially lead to criminal proceedings being initiated against 32-year-old Li Shengwu – threatens to end a truce of sorts between the premier and his two younger siblings following their public feud last month over the estate of their late father Lee Kuan Yew.
More on the Lee family feud
In a statement on Friday, Li, a Harvard University economics researcher, acknowledged the order by the attorney general’s chambers, but said he had decided to amend the original Facebook post on July 15 “to clarify my meaning” and “to avoid any misunderstanding of my original private post”.
“It is not my intent to attack the Singapore judiciary or to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice,” said Li.
The original post linked to a Wall Street Journal article about the family feud. In an accompanying caption, Li remarked that international news outlets were constrained in reporting about the squabble, given how “litigious” it was, and he then made a comment on the judiciary.