Singapore PM not to sue siblings over feud

Singapore, July 3 (IANS) Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday said he "would prefer not to sue my siblings" over their claims that he abused his power, despite calls to settle a family feud.

Lee spoke in Parliament following weeks of a fierce public dispute between him and his brother and sister, BBC reported.

The Prime Minister's siblings have accused him of misusing his influence in a dispute over their father's house. Lee has repeatedly denied the allegations.

He said that many had asked why he had not taken legal action, and admitted that in "any other imaginable circumstance but this, I would surely sue".

"But suing my own brother and sister in court would further besmirch my parents' names," he said, and added that the lawsuit would cause "more distraction and distress" to the public.

"Therefore, fighting this out in court cannot be my preferred choice," Lee said.

Opposition party leader Low Thia Khiang said not taking the matter to court gave the impression the government "was afraid of what the Lee siblings will say or reveal".

The dispute centres on whether the Singapore's leader late father Lee Kuan Yew wanted his house, known as 38 Oxley Road, to be demolished.

The Prime Minister's siblings have accused him of wanting to preserve it for his own personal political gain.

However, Lee denied the claim. "Regarding the house, and how its continued existence enhances my aura as PM, if I needed such magic properties to bolster my authority even after being your PM for 13 years, I must be in a pretty sad state," he said.

Lee also denied charges of nepotism involving one of his sons and his wife, and that he had interfered in government decisions on the house.