Lee and son deny impropriety in dealings<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew and his son
\nDeputy Premier Lee Hsien Loong denied any impropriety and
\ndefended their family honor in a parliamentary debate yesterday
\non discounts they got on luxury condominiums.<\/p>\n
The 72-year-old former premier, still recovering from a heart
\noperation in March, spoke on his feet for more than an hour to
\nreject market rumors that they got special treatment from a
\nproperty developer.<\/p>\n
\"I have to meet you in person to tell you the facts and give
\nyou the opportunity to decide whether I have become a different
\nperson,\" Lee told the parliament in a rambling, sometimes
\nemotional address.<\/p>\n
\"Let's grow up,\" he exclaimed at one point. \"I am what I am
\nand I'm here after 37 years in office because I have never taken
\nadvantage financially of my position.\"<\/p>\n
Lee said that \"at no stage did my wife or I feel we were doing
\nanything irregular or improper. They were open and above-board
\ntransactions.\"<\/p>\n
Lee, who stepped down after 31 years as premier in 1990 and
\nholds the title of senior minister, said \"there is nothing to
\nhide\" and described discounts as normal practice in the property
\nmarket<\/p>\n
Satisfied<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told parliament he was satisfied
\n\"there was no impropriety\" after looking into the deals and never
\ndoubted Lee's integrity.<\/p>\n
\"He has given his whole life to build this country and the
\nwhole world knows us for our reputation for being clean,\" said
\nGoh, who heads the world's highest-paid cabinet.<\/p>\n
Despite being cleared earlier by Goh, the Lees have announced
\nthat they will donate the discounts to charity to erase any
\ndoubts about the transactions.<\/p>\n
Lee said his greatest contributions to Singapore were its
\n\"financial integrity\" and clean government. He said he left
\npersonal financial matters to his wife Kwa Geok Choo, a
\nsuccessful lawyer and experienced property investor.<\/p>\n
They paid S$3.57 million (US$2.55 million) on one unit at an
\nexclusive development, Nassim Jade, after a seven-percent
\ndiscount also given to other early buyers, he said.<\/p>\n
It was bought for his possible use in old age, when he might
\nhave difficulty living in his three-level house, he said.<\/p>\n
They paid S$2.79 million after a five-percent discount on a
\nunit at another project, Scotts 28, and plan to rent it out, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Both are projects of Hotel Properties Ltd. (HPL), which was
\nreprimanded by the stock exchange last month for delays in
\nreporting discounted sales to its directors and their kin. Lee's
\nbrother Lee Suan Yew is an HPL director. The Lees publicly disclosed their purchases after the director
\nwas named in press reports about the reprimand.<\/p>\n
Deputy Premier Lee, 44, told parliament he paid S$3.64 million
\nfor a unit at Nassim Jade, and S$2.77 million for a unit at
\nScotts 28. He got a 12-percent discount on the first unit and
\nfive percent on the second.<\/p>\n
The junior Lee, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1992 but was
\nlater cured, said he and his wife decided to invest in property
\nfor their children's sake.<\/p>\n
\"These are really private matters which I am under no
\nobligation to disclose publicly,\" he said. \"But I have explained
\nthem to dispel any lingering mystery or doubt over my
\npurchases ...,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lee-and-son-deny-impropriety-in-dealings-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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