Mourners pay their respects to Singapore's late former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew where he lies in state at Parliament House in Singapore on March 27, 2015. Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, one of the towering figures of post-colonial Asian politics, died at the age of 91 on March 23. - AFP
An earlier government statement said that as of 11:00 pm Friday, more than 290,000 people had paid their respects to Lee, who led Singapore to independence from Malaysia in 1965.
Lee, who died at 91 on Monday after a long illness, is credited with the rise of the former British colony into one of the world’s wealthiest societies after he served as prime minister for 31 years, followed by another 20 years as cabinet adviser.
Until the suspension, the queue ran for 24 hours amid a widespread show of grief over the passing of the patriarch who governed Singapore with an iron fist, sidelining political opponents, muzzling the media and restricting political freedoms as he steered the economy to prosperity.
Lee is to be given full state honours before being cremated Sunday, including a 21-gun salute and a flypast by fighter jets.
Former US President Bill Clinton, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian King Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah are among the confirmed state representatives attending the funeral.
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