Singapore PM’s nephew accused of contempt of court

SINGAPORE: The nephew of Singapore’s prime minister yesterday said he was sent a letter by the city-state’s attorney-general that described comments he made on his Facebook account about the “litigious” nature of the government as being contempt of court.

The accusation is the latest twist in a family feud over the fate of late Singapore founding father Lee Kwan Yew’s house that gripped the nation last month.

Li Shengwu, nephew of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and a son of Lee’s brother, Lee Hsien Yang, said on Facebook that he had amended a post originally made on July 15 to clarify any misunderstandings. However, he said, he did not believe the post was in contempt of court.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers has not released a copy of the letter and did not respond to request for comment.

Li’s July 15 post was shared on a privacy setting that can only be viewed by his Facebook friends.

He yesterday said the intent of that post was to convey that the “international media were restricted in their ability to report” on a recent feud between the prime minister and his siblings “due to the litigious nature” of the government.

“It is not my intent to attack the Singapore judiciary or to undermine public confidence in the administration of justice,” Li said.

The public spat between the Lee siblings, children of Lee Kuan Yew, flared in June over the future of the family home and raised questions about governance in the city-state.

Hsien Yang and sister Lee Wei Ling accused their elder brother of abusing his powers, prompting the prime minister to call an extraordinary special sitting of Parliament last month to “clear the air” over the issue. Reuters