BALI (Sputnik) – More than 1.2 million people, or every fifth resident of Singapore, have paid their last respects to First Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew at the Parliament House and various community sites across the island, Lee's eldest son and the current Prime Minister of Singapore has said.
"Since my father passed away, Singaporeans have expressed their grief overwhelmingly. Huge crowds have come to the community tribute centres, and queued up for hours, day and night, to pay their respects at Parliament House," Lee Hsien Loong wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.
The period of public mourning for Lee Kuan Yew, which started on Monday, ended in Singapore on Saturday. The funeral procession starts at 12:30 p.m. local time on Sunday (04:30 GMT). After the procession, a funeral service will be held at the cultural centre of the National University of Singapore.
Lee Kuan Yew died Monday morning at the Singapore general hospital where he had been in treatment for severe pneumonia. He was 91.
Lee Kuan Yew became First Prime Minister of Singapore in 1959 and ruled for 31 years, until November, 1990. He was the initiator of crucial economic and anti-corruption reforms that led to Singapore's evolution into one of the world's economic capitals.
