AKIPRESS.COM - Singaporeans wept and world leaders paid tribute Monday as the Southeast Asian city-state mourned the death of its founding father Lee Kuan Yew, Fox News reports.
The government announced that Lee, 91, "passed away peacefully" early Monday at Singapore General Hospital. An increasingly frail Lee was hospitalized in February with severe pneumonia.
State television broke away from regular programming with a hagiographic tribute to Lee's life. In a live broadcast, one of its reporters called Lee's death the "awful and dreaded" news.
Lee commands immense respect among Singaporeans, who this year will celebrate the country's 50th anniversary of independence. He led Singapore with an iron grip for more than three decades until 1990, and is credited with transforming the resource poor island into a wealthy bustling financial hub with low crime and almost zero corruption.
The Singapore government has declared seven days of national mourning and flags will fly at half-mast on state buildings. A private wake for the family, which includes Lee's son, the current prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, will be held Monday and Tuesday. A state funeral is scheduled for Sunday.
Under Lee and his successors, Singapore was known around the world for its strict social order including a ban on chewing gum, restrictions on free speech and canings for crimes some countries would rule as minor. In recent years, it has become socially more liberal and the fragmented political opposition made gains in Singapore's last elections in 2011.
After stepping down as prime minister, Lee remained part of the Cabinet and an influential figure in Singapore and the region.