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Doctors restart antibiotics for former PM Lee Kuan Yew

Singapore's founding PM Lee Kuan Yew, 91, is on mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit but his condition is stable
Singapore's founding PM Lee Kuan Yew, 91, is on mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit but his condition is stable



[UPDATE on Thursday, 26 February 2015, 9:25am: Antibiotics restarted in hospital for Lee Kuan Yew]

In an update on his Facebook page, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has shared that his father, former MM Lee Kuan Yew, is still warded at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). His doctors have restarted him on antibiotics, and he remains sedated and on mechanical ventilation.

Over the weekend, news broke that the founding prime minister had been warded for over two weeks for severe pneumonia, and had missed Chinese New Year with his family.

In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said he was admitted on Feb 5 for severe pneumonia. His condition is reported to have stabilised. The ex-prime minister is conscious and lightly sedated.

In a Facebook post earlier on Saturday, PM Lee said he visited his father in the hospital that morning.

"Did not see him on the first day of the New Year, on the advice of doctors (both his and mine). So we wished him Happy New Year today, and a smooth recovery.

"This was the first year in a long while that we could not attend the Lee family reunion dinner," the prime minister said.

PM Lee visited his ailing father in Singapore General Hospital on Feb 21. (Facebook screengrab from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's account)
PM Lee visited his ailing father in Singapore General Hospital on Feb 21. (Facebook screengrab from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's account)

His post included a family picture taken during Chinese New Year in 2013.

The younger Lee is also recuperating from a health scare, having gone under the knife earlier this month to remove a cancerous prostate gland.

Lee Kuan Yew, 91, was hospitalised for breathing-related health problems almost exactly a year ago. He was admitted on Feb 2, 2014 after suffering from a fever and bad cough caused by an infection. His hospitalisation last year caused him for the first time to miss his decades-long tradition of attending a Chinese New Year with his constituents in the port district of Tanjong Pagar.

Lee, who served as prime minister from 1959 to 1990, is considered the architect of Singapore's rise to become one of Asia's wealthiest economies. The People's Action Party, which he co-founded, has won every election since 1959.