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Health of Singapore's Former PM Lee Worsens


FILE - Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
FILE - Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

The health of Singapore's ailing first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, has "deteriorated further," the government said Wednesday.

"Lee Kuan Yew remains critically ill in the ICU," said a statement from the office of his son and current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The statement gave no other details.

Widely seen as the father of modern Singapore, Lee was hospitalized on February 5 for severe pneumonia and has since been placed on a ventilator.

Lee remains popular and seen as an influential figure in Singapore, where he served as its first prime minister for 31 years until stepping down in 1990. During his time in office the Cambridge-educated lawyer turned Singapore into one of Asia's strongest economies.

Many people in Singapore have been turning to social media sites to express their support for the ailing former leader.

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