Singapore founding father critically ill in ICU

Singapore's 'founding father' Lee Kuan Yew is critically ill in hospital, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said yesterday.

Lee, 91, the island state's first and longest serving prime minister, has been hospitalised in the Singapore General Hospital since Feb 5, when he was admitted for severe pneumonia, and is now in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The politician oversaw Singapore's separation from Malaysia and guided it to prosperity. He led the country for three decades since June 1959.

Concerns rose on Wednesday after news broke that Lee was critically ill and that his condition had deteriorated further.

On Wednesday night, screenshots were circulated of a fake website bearing the PMO logo and announcing his death.

The hoax led some foreign outlets, including CNN and China's CCTV, Sina and Phoenix Chinese News to report that Lee had died, only to retract the reports later. CNN Breaking News said in a tweet shortly after 10:00pm that Lee had died, citing a "government website".

Lee was visited on Wednesday by family members and relatives, including his eldest child, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 63, and grandson Lee Yipeng, 32.

In a Facebook post early yesterday, PM Lee's wife, Ho Ching, expressed hope that the fake news would be cleared and thanked everyone for their prayers.