No hoax : Singapore’s Ex-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, dies at 91

Singapore - The founding father and the former prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew died on Monday 3:18 a.m. (1918 GMT) at Singapore General Hospital, where he had been admitted since Feb this year due to severe pneumonia. He was 91.

The Singapore’s government has declared a period of national mourning until his funeral on Sunday. Lee's family will hold a private wake in the next two days, then his body will lie in state at parliament from Wednesday to Saturday.

US President Barack Obama described Lee, who ruled Singapore for three decades, as "a true giant of history" whose advice on governance and economic development had been sought by other world leaders down the years.

"The Philippines joins the Singaporean people in mourning the passing of their first Prime Minister and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Mr. Lee was a visionary statesman who built Singapore into an economic powerhouse and modern society that has been a positive force not only in the region but also in the world," the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Singaporeans had been bracing for the news for days, and a sea of flowers had already piled up at the hospital where he was being treated.

"I'm so sad. He is my idol. He's been so good to me, my family and everyone," said Lua Su Yean, 64. "His biggest achievement is that from zero he's built up today's Singapore."

Lee had receded from public and political life over the past few years, but he was still seen as an influential figure in the government of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, his eldest son.

Sources: GMA News | Bloomberg | Inquirer.net