A prominent member of the Lee family, he is the younger brother of Lee Hsien Loong and the youngest son of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding prime minister of Singapore.
Lee enlisted in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) in 1976, and has held several command and staff appointments such as the Commander of the second Singapore Infantry Brigade, and had attained the rank of brigadier-general before retiring in 1994.[7]
Private
After retiring from the military, Lee joined Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) in April 1994 as Executive Vice President of Local Services.[8] In May 1995, he became CEO of Singtel, where he served until March 2007.[6][9] That same year, Lee was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (PJG).
In September 2007, Fraser and Neave (F&N) appointed Lee as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman-designate with effect from 6 September 2007. Lee assumed the position of Non-Executive Chairman on 15 October 2007.[10] On 1 July 2009, Lee was appointed Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)[11] by Minister for TransportRaymond Lim.[12] On 26 February 2013, it was announced that Lee had stepped down from the board of F&N.[13]
Lee said during a telephone interview with Bloomberg in March 2023, "There is a view that depending on who they (referring to the People's Action Party) float, if I were to run they would be in serious trouble and could lose. A lot of people have come to me. They really want me to run. It's something I would consider." As of March 2023, both Lee and his wife, Lee Suet Fern, are currently in self-imposed exile in the United Kingdom after being under investigation for lying during judicial proceedings. Lee did not collect his application forms from the Elections Department.
However, it has been cited that he may not meet the eligibility requirements due to ongoing police investigations against him and his wife, Lim Suet Fern, over allegedly giving false evidence in the proceedings over his father Lee Kuan Yew's will.[18]
Exile
On 22 October 2024, Lee announced that he was now a "political refugee" in the United Kingdom after being granted asylum there.[19] The Singapore authorities responded that the persecution against him as claimed was unfounded and baseless.[20]
On 23 July 2023, a post was made on Lee's Facebook account, including the statement: "two ministers have leased state-owned mansions from the agency that one of them controls, felling trees and getting state-sponsored renovations".[21][22]
Within a week, Singaporean ministers K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan demanded that Lee apologize for and withdraw his statements, and additionally pay damages to them, which they said they would donate to charity; if he did not do so, they threatened to sue him.[23] Shanmugam alleged that Lee accused him and Balakrishnan of "acting corruptly and for personal gain by having Singapore Land Authority (SLA) give us preferential treatment" regarding the Ridout Road rentals.[24]
Lee responded: "My post did not assert that Shanmugam and V. Balakrishnan acted corruptly or for personal gain by having SLA give them preferential treatment … My post simply stated facts that were already widely published in the Singapore and international media."[25]
The two ministers proceeded to sue Lee for defamation. The Singapore High Court gave default judgment in November 2023 in favour of the ministers when Lee did not respond to the lawsuits. Lee was ordered to pay SGD 400,000 in total to the two ministers, comprising SGD 150,000 in general damages and SGD 50,000 in aggravated damages to each minister. Lee was also ordered to pay SGD 51,000 in costs to each Minister.[26] In his judgment, Justice Goh Yihan stated that he was satisfied that Lee had "consciously chosen not to respond" and the ministers were "public leaders and persons of the highest integrity who undoubtedly have a high standing", which was "a factor that points towards the award of higher damages".[27]
Payment to Ministers
On 29 September 2024, Lee Hsien Yang reported making a payment of $619,335.53 to Ministers K. Shanmugam and Vivian Balakrishnan, which he stated was equivalent to 13.6 months' rent for the two Ridout houses. He indicated that this payment was made in an effort to honor his father's wishes regarding his home at 38 Oxley Road and to allow his sister, Wei Ling, who is unwell, to continue residing there. Lee expressed disappointment that the ministers did not pursue the case in the English courts.[28] Wei Ling died shortly after in October 2024.[29]
Lee and his sister, Lee Wei Ling, were the joint administrators and executors of Lee Kuan Yew's will. However, they were in a dispute in 2017 with Lee Hsien Loong over their late father's will with regard to the house at 38 Oxley Road. They "felt threatened by Lee Hsien Loong's misuse of his position and influence over the Singapore government and its agencies to drive his personal agenda". They alleged that their brother thwarted the will of their father in order to use the house as a monument to milk his father's legacy. They also criticised the influence of Ho Ching over the government, and alleged that the Prime Minister harboured political ambitions for his son, Li Hongyi.[37]
In 2017, a special parliamentary session was held to clear the Prime Minister of any wrongdoings and the siblings agreed to keep the dispute private after the session.[38][39] However, this ultimately did not become the case with it continuing to be highly publicised. The issue was later resolved.
