Report says Singapore’s former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew hospitalized with chest infection

Singapore’s elder Lee hospitalized with infection

SINGAPORE — Former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew was hospitalized Wednesday with a chest infection, a news report said.

The 87-year-old Lee was admitted to Singapore General Hospital late in the day, Channel NewsAsia reported, citing Lee’s press secretary, Yeong Yoon Ying. No details were given as to Lee’s condition.

Calls to Yeong rang unanswered Wednesday.

Lee is currently a senior adviser in the Cabinet of his son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He was Singapore’s first prime minister from independence in 1965 to 1990 and is regarded as the driving influence behind the city-state’s development.

Lee regularly travels and gives speeches in Singapore and abroad.

He spoke late Tuesday at a Russia-Singapore business forum. The Straits Times newspaper said Lee received physiotherapy earlier Tuesday at a hospital because he fell Monday. No details were given about the fall.

In September 2008, Lee underwent successful treatment for abnormal heart rhythm.