Singapore's affluent veneer hides corruption, says founder's son

LONDON: Singapore has become much more repressive, and corruption in the Asian financial hub has worsened in the decade since the death of former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, according to his youngest son who has been granted political refugee status in the UK. He fled to Britain from what he described as a campaign of persecution to silence him.Lee Hsien Yang said Singaporean authorities have "weaponized" the country's laws against critics. Lee cited a tightening of laws on security and rights of assembly and a sharp increase in the number of asylum-seekers from the city-state over the past decade under the rule of his estranged brother, Lee Hsien Loong, who was prime minister until he stepped down earlier this year. "Singapore has this veneer that purports to be a sort of affluent, democratic, free country. The veneer is quite thin," he said in an interview in London on Monday. The Singapore govt reacted Thursday, accusing Lee of turning a "personal vendetta into an international smear campaign against his father, his family and his country." Human Rights Watch says Singapore silenced dissenting voices in its recent elections and voiced concern over aggressive enforcement of a sweeping "online falsehoods" law. Lee brothers have been at odds since they fell out over the will of their late father.