S'pore govt evicts sultan's kin

S'pore govt evicts sultan's kin

SINGAPORE (AP): The descendants of Singapore's last sultan were gone from their palace on Wednesday, routed to make room for a Malay cultural center.

Several policemen looked on as the main entrance to the dilapidated, two-story building was sealed. Banners warning "State Land: No Trespassing" went up across the 1.2 hectares of grounds.

Only weeks ago, the 160-year-old palace was crowded with about 200 descendants of Singapore's last sultan, Hussein, who died in 1835.

Now the Istana, as the palace built by Hussein's son Ali is called in Malay, will be turned into a center for Singapore's Malay community, since the bluebloods lost a court battle with authorities.

Sultan Hussein ruled Singapore and parts of neighboring Malaysia, ceding them to the British in 1824. When he died, the British appropriated about 23 hectares of his lands, including the grounds of Istana.