Crowds swell to bid farewell to Singapore's founder Lee ahead of funeral


People pay their respects to the late first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew at a community tribute site in Singapore March 28, 2015. REUTERS/Edgar Su

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Thousands of people gathered in Singapore on Saturday to bid farewell to former leader Lee Kuan Yew in an unprecedented wave of sympathy after authorities had to temporarily suspend queues overnight to manage surging crowds.

The waiting time to enter Singapore's Parliament House where Lee's body was laying in state was as long as 6 hours just before midday on Saturday, a rare sight in a city where public gatherings are tightly controlled.

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