Singapore dismisses Lee Kuan Yew death report as hoax

 

Singapore founding father's condition worsens )1:35

 

 

(CNN) A top government spokesman dismissed as a hoax Wednesday a report that Singapore's founding father had died.

 

Former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew is alive, said Farah Rahim, senior director for the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information. The 91-year-old, who has been in a hospital with pneumonia since February 5, is in critical condition, the government has said.

 

A message purporting to be from the current Prime Minister circulated online Wednesday saying that Lee had died. CNN published that news on its breaking news Twitter account before updating the account to quote Singapore's government spokesman dismissing the news as a hoax. The network has since deleted the original tweet.

 

"We have reported this to the police and they are investigating this hoax. Our website was not hacked, it was a doctored image," the spokesman said.

 

In the last official communication from Prime Minister's office about Lee, earlier Wednesday, the office said that Lee "remains critically ill in the ICU and has deteriorated further."

A day earlier, it said that Lee, on a ventilator in the intensive care unit of Singapore General Hospital, had an infection and was being treated with antibiotics.

 

Born in 1923, Lee co-founded the city state in 1965 when it declared its independence from Malaysia and was its prime minister for more than three decades.

 

Lee was succeeded as prime minister by Goh Chok Tong in 1990, before Lee Kuan Yew's son Lee Hsien Loong took power in August 2004.

 

The elder Lee has been credited with Singapore's remarkable transformation from a colonial trading post to a prosperous financial center.

 

However, he has also been a divisive figure, attracting criticism for stifling media freedom and for the harsh treatment of political opponents.

 

By Jason Hanna, CNN

Updated 1620 GMT (0020 HKT) March 18, 2015

Please Click the following for other Related Posts and Readings

Singapore dismisses Lee Kuan Yew death report as hoax - Published 18 March 2015 by CNN

Condition of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding father, deteriorates - Published 18 March 2015 by CNN

Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s Condition Worsens - Published 18 March 2015 by The Wall Street Journal

First Singapore PM’s condition worsens in hospital - Published 18 March 2015 by Globe and Mail (Canada)

PMO lodging police report about fake website announcing death of Mr Lee Kwan Yew - Published 18 March 2015

Mr Lee's health condition worsens - Published 18 March 2015

Mr Lee Kuan Yew remainss 'critically ill', condition has deteriorated further: PMO - Published 18 March 2015

Condition of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding father, deteriorates - Published 18 March 2015

Rumours of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's death untrue: government sources - Published 25 Feb 2015