Here's how they avoid ugly public battles
Family offices are positioned as all-inclusive vehicles for wealth management and dispute resolution, in a landscape bristling with contentious issues. (Photo: Freepik)
Conjecture and intrigue trail closely at the heels of any public dispute involving a wealthy family, especially when the dynasty in question is among Asia's most prominent.
Last year, a fracture in the Kwek family became apparent when second-generation scion of Hong Leong Group Kwek Leng Peck parted ways with the conglomerate's real estate business, City Developments Limited (CDL).
The billionaire cited disagreements with the board and management over a now fraught investment in a Chinese property firm led by his nephew Sherman Kwek – fomenting speculation of an intergenerational rift. But such conflict among the monied isn't new, despite the careful divvying of trust funds.
Two sons of former president Ong Teng Cheong face off in court battle over family business
Mr Ong Tze Guan (left) has sued his younger brother Tze Boon and six other shareholders for minority oppression.PHOTOS: MY PAPER FILE, ONG&ONG
Two sons of former Singapore president Ong Teng Cheong are facing off in court in a dispute over shareholdings in the holding company that controls the architecture business founded by their parents.
Older brother Ong Tze Guan, 55, has sued his younger brother Ong Tze Boon and six other shareholders, alleging minority oppression.
The engineering-trained Tze Guan had a 28.45 per cent stake in Ong&Ong Holdings. Tze Boon, 53, an architect, had a 70.43 per cent stake. He has counterclaimed against Tze Guan for defamation and to recover an outstanding loan.
Ong&Ong brothers in legal dispute over shares in family business
Ong Tze Guan (left) is suing his brother Ong Tze Boon (right) and seven others, claiming his shares in the family business were undervalued when the defendants forcibly acquired them. PHOTOS: SCCCCI, SHIN MIN
FORMER Singapore president Ong Teng Cheong's sons are bringing their rift to the public arena, with the eldest son Ong Tze Guan suing his brother Ong Tze Boon and seven others, claiming his shares in the family business were undervalued when the defendants acquired them.
Mr Ong Tze Guan has launched a lawsuit against his 53-year-old brother and six other shareholders of Ong&Ong Holdings as well as the company itself, claiming that his stake of 28.45 per cent in Ong&Ong Holdings would have been worth S$5.41 million.
But they were acquired by the seven defendants at S$1.65 million in September 2020, based on the company auditor's valuation.
Explainer: Why are Singapore's first family feuding?
FILE PHOTO: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is seen during a live-broadcast national address, in Singapore, June 23, 2020. Ministry Of Communications And Information/Prime Minister's Office
A public rift between the heirs of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s modern day founder, has shot to the fore with the prospect of his two sons squaring off at a July 10 general election. Lee Hsien Yang on Wednesday formally joined a new opposition party competing against his brother Lee Hsien Loong’s People’s Action Party, which has ruled the city-state since its independence since 1965.
The move comes amid a long-standing and bitter dispute between the siblings centred around what to do with their late father’s house - demolish it, or let the government decide whether to make it a heritage landmark. On one side of the dispute stands the eldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 68, who believes the government must decide what should be done.
On the other are his siblings - Lee Hsien Yang and his sister Lee Wei Ling. They say their father’s will stated the house should eventually be demolished after his death and they have accused Prime Minister Lee of wanting to preserve the house to build his own political capital. “His popularity is inextricably linked to Lee Kuan Yew’s legacy,” they said in a 2017 statement.
Singapore's ruling family feud
FILE PHOTO: Lee Kuan Yew (centre), architect of modern Singapore, and his family celebrate his 80th birthday in Singapore, Sept 16, 2003. From left to right: daughter-in-law Lee Suet Fern, son Lee Hsien Yang, Chief Justice Tong Pung How, daughter Lee Wei Ling, Lee, wife Kwa Geok Choo, son Lee Hsien Loong, daughter-in-law Ho Ching and granddaughter Li Xiuqi. (Reuters)
A public rift between the heirs of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first and longest-serving prime minister, has for years rumbled in the wealthy city-state regarded as an island of stability in Southeast Asia.
The dispute revolves around what to do with their late father's house at 38 Oxley Road - demolish it, or let the government decide whether to make it a heritage landmark.
On one side of the dispute stands the eldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 67, who believes the government must decide what should be done. On the other are his siblings - Lee Kuan Yew's daughter, Lee Wei Ling, and his youngest son, Lee Hsien Yang.
Singapore PM’s Brother Sees ‘Real Anger’ Brewing Before Election
The estranged brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made waves when he joined the opposition Progress Singapore Party last month.
While he stopped short of contesting the July 10 poll, Lee Hsien Yang’s political foray signifies a shift in the family’s public squabble -- from the feud over the house of their father and founding premier Lee Kuan Yew, to governance under the ruling People’s Action Party led by his elder brother.
The feud has spilled over into other conflicts involving the younger Lee’s wife and son. Lee Hsien Yang’s wife is in a legal tussle over accusations that she mishandled Lee Kuan Yew’s will, and his son -- an assistant professor of economics at Harvard University -- is at risk of being fined for scandalizing the judiciary through comments posted on a private Facebook post.
'Hope against hope' for ties with siblings to be repaired: PM Lee
Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong has reiterated that while he has not brought his siblings to court for defamation, it doesn’t mean he would never do it and that others have free rein to defame him.
Lee was responding to a question by lawyer Lim Tean when he took the stand in his defamation suit against The Online Citizen’s (TOC) chief editor Terry Xu Yuanchen, 38. The trial opened on Monday (30 November) with Xu denying any damage had been done to Lee’s reputation through TOC’s 2019 article on 38 Oxley Road.
Xu, represented by Lim, is seeking to argue before Justice Audrey Lim that TOC’s article was not defamatory, or justify that what was stated in the article was true. The article published on TOC’s website and Facebook page on 15 August last year is titled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”.
PM Lee on rift with brother, sister: “I think the feud is on my siblings’ part”
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who testified in his defamation suit against Mr Terry Xu, the editor of The Online Citizen (TOC), on Monday (Nov 30), expressed the hope that the rift between himself and his brother and sister can still be repaired.
Mr Xu has denied that damage had been done to the Prime Minister’s reputation after an article about the Lee family and its property at 38 Oxley Road on the TOC website and Facebook page on Aug 15, 2019, entitled “PM Lee’s wife, Ho Ching, weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members”.
PM Lee was cross-examined by counsel for the defendant, Mr Lim Tean. At one point in the cross-examination, according to Yahoo Singapore, Mr Lim asked PM Lee when he last spoke to his siblings, Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang. Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, one of the Prime Minister’s lawyers, asked about the relevance of such a question.
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong denounced by siblings
Extraordinary display of disapproval shocks country where open criticism of political leaders is discouraged
The younger siblings of Singapore’s prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, have launched a scathing personal and political attack on him, saying they have lost confidence in him as a leader and accusing their “big brother omnipresent” of abusing his power.
Lee Wei Ling and her brother Lee Hsien Yang said in a public statement released in the early hours of Wednesday that they were “disturbed by the character, conduct, motives and leadership” of the premier and his wife.
Their criticism appeared to focus on a dispute over the fate of the family home, the influence of the first lady on government, and allegations that the prime minister had unannounced political ambitions for his son. “We feel extremely sad that we are pushed to this position,” they wrote. “We have seen a completely different face to our brother, one that deeply troubles us.”
In rare feud, Singapore PM Lee under attack by his siblings
A rare feud between Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his siblings has publicized the deep divisions weighing on the island-nation’s first family.
In an explosive statement on Wednesday, Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang — the PM’s younger sister and brother, respectively — accused their elder brother of abusing power and exploiting their father’s legacy for political gain.
The city-state’s first PM and father to all three siblings, Lee Kuan Yew (LKY) passed away in March 2015.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong publicly denounced by siblings
Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong at an event at the Istana presidential palace in Singapore earlier in June
Singaporean leader Lee Hsien Loong's siblings have launched a stunning public broadside against their elder brother, accusing him of misusing his power and influence over government to drive a personal agenda.
At the heart of Lee's brother and sister's extraordinary public statement, released Wednesday, is the issue of the disposal of their late father Lee Kuan Yew's home in central Singapore. In the statement, Lee's sister, Lee Wei Ling, and his brother, Lee Hsien Yang, claim the prime minister "deliberately misrepresented" his father's wishes for his home to be demolished in order to gain political mileage.
They claim the prime minister and his wife oppose the demolition because preserving the home would enhance his political capital.
Singapore frets over worsening Lee family feud
Sibling rivalry: the three Lees at the funeral of their father Lee Kuan Yew in 2015 - Lee Hsien Yang (left), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (centre) and Lee Wei Ling (second from right) © Getty
A feud within Singapore’s first family intensified on Thursday as the prime minister’s sister said the split pointed to the repressive nature of the city-state — and was more than just a quarrel between siblings.
Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, dismissed her brother’s attempt to characterise the struggle as “private family matters”. Her intervention illustrates a fight for control of the narrative between rival wings of Singapore’s first family, analysts say. The row has dominated political discourse in the Asian financial centre this week.
The clash of the Lees — pitting prime minister Lee Hsien Loong against his sister and younger brother Lee Hsien Yang — has captivated Singaporeans.
Sibling rivalry erupts within Singapore's first family
In a Facebook post on June 15, the Singaporean prime minister's sister, Lee Wei Ling, insisted that recent sibling rivalry within the family extends beyond a family affair, renewing allegations that the PM had misused his official power to abuse the siblings.
Lee Wei Ling, daughter of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuang Yew, and her younger brother, Lee Hsien Yang, jointly issued a stunning statement a day earlier, denouncing their older brother, Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong, and his wife, Ho Ching, for abusing their power and exploiting their late father's legacy for personal gain - specifically, the political ambitions of their son, Li Hongyi. The statement claimed that they have lost confidence in their brother and they no longer trust him. Blaming the PM for his departure, Lee Hsien Yang said he now feels compelled to leave the country for the foreseeable future.
Lee Hsien Loong on June 14 denied all allegations and said he was disappointed and saddened that the two siblings turned private family issues into a public affair.
Lee Hsien Yang, Lee Wei Ling say they have 'no confidence' in Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong
The siblings of Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have issued a statement of “no confidence” against their brother, saying that they felt threatened by his pursuit of a personal agenda over their father’s home on 38 Oxley Road. In response on Facebook, the city-state’s leader said he was “disappointed” his siblings issued a statement on private family matters and denied the allegations stated therein.
Lee Hsien Yang and Lee Wei Ling, the second son and daughter, respectively, of Singapore’s first prime minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew, made the open statement through their Facebook accounts in the early hours of Wednesday (14 June). In the statement, the siblings expressed fear that “organs of the state” would be used against them and Lee Hsein Yang’s wife, Suet Fern. Lee Kuan Yew’s youngest son said he felt “compelled to leave” Singapore “for the foreseeable future”.
“This is the country that my father, Lee Kuan Yew, loved and built. It has been home for my entire life. Singapore is and remains my country. I have no desire to leave. Hsien Loong is the only reason for my departure,” the statement quoted Lee Hsien Yang.
PM Lee accused of massive abuse of political power by his own two siblings
And we really mean it when we said bombshell. It’s nearly six whole pages of explaining how they feel deeply disturbed by the actions of Singapore’s prime minister, and how they’ve lost confidence in him — to the point that they feel threatened by his “misuse” of power in driving an alleged personal agenda. Prime Minister Lee’s wife, Ho Ching, wasn’t spared from their arrows either, as they named her as an accomplice to the alleged shenanigans.
The crux of their denunciation however relates to the sibling’s long-running dispute over the demolition of their father’s (Lee Kuan Yew, FYI, the founding PM of Singapore) house at 38 Oxley Road. Basically, Wei Ling and Hsien Yang want to carry out the home’s demolition, because that’s what their father explicitly requested in his will. The prime minister however is said to be fighting the demolition, and wants to “inherit Lee Kuan Yew’s standing and reputation for themselves and their children”.
How a House Provoked a Feud in Singapore’s Lee Family
The long-running feud in Singapore’s most prominent family over a house has moved into the realm of politics. Lee Hsien Yang, the youngest child of Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, formally joined a new opposition party a day after his estranged brother, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, called an election for July 10. It was the latest public display of acrimony in a family that rarely aired its dirty linen before the elder Lee’s death in 2015, but now plays out in parliament and even on Facebook.
What’s the fight about? It centers on 38 Oxley Road, a colonial-era bungalow near the glitzy Orchard Road shopping belt in Singapore. Lee Kuan Yew lived there for most of his 91 years and his will included a wish for the property eventually to be demolished; he said in a 2011 interview it was to avoid the cost of preserving it and the risk that it would fall into disrepair. The demolition would only happen after his daughter, Dr. Lee Wei Ling, moves out.
All three siblings have said they want to honor the demolition request. But the two younger ones in 2017 accused their brother, the prime minister, of maneuvering to undermine their father’s instructions, citing the existence of a ministerial committee exploring options for the property. Prime Minister Lee, or PM Lee as he’s called, denied the allegations. His deputy said the committee wasn’t secret and had to review the situation in case Dr. Lee, who is a senior adviser at Singapore’s National Neuroscience Institute, moves out.
Singapore PM Lee 'prefers not to sue siblings' over feud
Mr Lee made a special speech in parliament on Monday addressing the accusations
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong says he would prefer not to sue his siblings over claims he abused his power, despite calls to settle a family feud. Mr Lee spoke in parliament following weeks of a fierce public dispute between him and his brother and sister.
The prime minister's siblings have accused him of misusing his influence in a dispute over their father's house. Mr Lee has repeatedly denied the allegations, most recently in Monday's parliamentary sitting. Mr Lee and his father, the late leader Lee Kuan Yew, were known for suing critics and opponents for defamation.
He acknowledged that many had asked why he had not taken legal action, and admitted that in "any other imaginable circumstance but this, I would surely sue". "But suing my own brother and sister in court would further besmirch my parents' names," he said, adding that the lawsuit would cause "more distraction and distress" to the public.
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The famiLEE feud hots up over LKY's last will
Ms Kwa Kim Li (pictured), a managing partner at law firm Lee and Lee, prepared the wills for the late Lee Kuan Yew
The siblings of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong are seeking the convening of a disciplinary tribunal to investigate the conduct of their cousin, Ms Kwa Kim Li, who prepared six wills for their late father Lee Kuan Yew. Ms Kwa, a managing partner at law firm Lee and Lee, prepared the wills for Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister, between Aug 20, 2011 and Nov 2, 2012.
Court documents obtained by TODAY showed that Dr Lee Wei Ling and Mr Lee Hsien Yang, who are executors and trustees of Lee Kuan Yew’s estate, filed the High Court application against the Law Society (LawSoc) on Sept 21 last year. The Lee siblings’ application states that an inquiry committee investigated Ms Kwa following three complaints made in 2019.
The application seeks an order from the High Court directing the LawSoc to apply to Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon “for the appointment of a disciplinary tribunal for a formal investigation into the conduct of Ms Kwa Kim Li” over three of the 2019 complaints.
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