SINGAPORE: News about Singapore's first family and relatives courted attention again this week especially since some in the family were at loggerheads on personal and political matters, and considering the island republic's impending general elections next year.
Despite the coronavirus overshadowing nearly all issues, the political climate is getting hotter with the news of the High Court decision that Li Shengwu, nephew of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, will have to avail himself for cross-examination, said the Mothership portal.
"The order was made after hearing several applications by the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) and the defendant’s lawyers.
"This means that Li has 14 days to answer questions related to allegations of contempt of court, which were posed to him by the AGC," said the portal.
Earlier the court dismissed Li’s applications to set aside the questions and for discovery of certain documents on the case from the AGC.
Li’s father is Lee Hsien Yang, PM Lee Hsien Loong younger brother and he became the focus of attention in 2017 after a Facebook posting saying that Singapore government is “very litigious and has a pliant court system”.
Li, an assistant Professor at Harvard, was subsequently served court papers in the United States over the posting, said the Mothership.
The AGC initiated contempt proceedings against Li that it claimed constituted “an egregious and baseless attack on the Singapore judiciary, ” said The South China Morning Post (SCMP).
Some would say that Pofma - Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) - is another form of opposition checking and pressure by the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) with early correction direction ordered against opposition parties.
Li's post was made in relation to an ongoing family feud between Hsien Loong and his siblings over their family home at 38 Oxley Road.
The house owner was their father, founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who died on March 23, 2015, said The Straits Times.
In mid-2017, Lee Wei Ling and Hsien Yang accused Hsien Loong of using state organs against them.
Hsien Loong younger siblings accused him of abusing his power to preserve their family home against their father’s willed desire to demolish the house and of grooming his son, Li Hongyi, for politics in order to bolster his own grip on power, said The Independent.
The duo also said that their elder brother invited all their relatives except them for his first Chinese New Year reunion dinner after the death of their father after the disagreement about Kuan Yew’s last wishes.
Hsien Loong also accused Hsien Yang’s wife, Lee Suet Fern, of being involved in the preparation of her father-in-law’s last will while her husband was one of the beneficiaries.
Wei Ling and Hsien Yang strongly denied the claims against Suet Fern.
In 2018, Hsien Loong admitted that the family feud remained unresolved and that his siblings had not communicated with him recently.
Describing the family feud as being in “abeyance”, Hsien Loong said: “I’m not sure if it’s solved,” that he was still saddened by the dispute over the family home.
He then expressed hope that their relations will improve in future, when “emotions have subsided."
Hsien Yang subsequently revealed that Hsien Loong had not made any effort to reach out to resolve matters in private.
The Independent quoted Hsien Yang as saying: “Our brother says he is unsure that the feud is solved. Notwithstanding his public statements, Hsien Loong has made no attempt to reach out to us to resolve matters in private.”
Relations between them and their families remain frosty nearly five years since Hsien Loong, Wei Ling and Hsien Yang argued over their father’s will.
It came to a new plateau when Li Shengwu removed Li Hongyi, from his Facebook friends list.
"The cousins, who were once described as “very close”, had been Facebook friends until this week although they were no longer on speaking terms since at least late-2017," said the portal.