Fake report of former Singapore PM's death prompts police complaint

Reports of the death of Singapore’s founding father and first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew have proved premature, prompting the country’s prime minister’s office to file a police complaint over a fake website that carried the news.

Lee, who is 91 and has been receiving treatment for severe pneumonia in the intensive care unit at Singapore General Hospital since Feb. 5, is “critically ill” and his condition is worsening further while on life support in the hospital, the government said Wednesday.

But an apparently fake website — which displayed the logo of the prime minister’s office — carried news of his demise, prompting both CNN and China’s CCTV to incorrectly report that Lee had died, Singapore’s  Straits Times reported. Both later retracted the breaking news tweets, the newspaper added.

Lee, widely credited with transforming Singapore from an economic backwater into one of Asia's wealthiest economies, has been breathing with the help of "mechanical ventilation," a form of life support, according to previous government statements.

Under Lee and his successors, including his son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Singapore — known for its ban on chewing gum sales and canings for crimes some countries would rule as minor — has strictly controlled public speech and assembly, though it has become more socially liberal and allowed greater artistic freedom in recent years.

Lee commands immense respect among Singaporeans, who this year will celebrate the former British colony’s 50th independence anniversary.

Lee has visibly slowed since his wife of 63 years, Kwa Geok Choo, died in 2010. In a book published in 2013, the Asian elder statesman said he felt weaker by the day and wanted a quick death.

Prime Minister Lee posted the latest update on his father on his Facebook page and was immediately inundated with expressions of support, prayers and wishes for the patriarch's recovery.

Many said they hoped he would live long enough to witness Singapore's 50th anniversary of independence on Aug. 9, an event locally called "SG50." The country gained self-rule from Britain in 1959 and became a republic in 1965, after a brief and stormy union with neighboring Malaysia. 

Al Jazeera and wire services