High Court dismisses application by Lee Kuan Yew's estate on recorded transcripts

Singapore

THE High Court on Wednesday dismissed an application by the estate of Lee Kuan Yew against the government. The estate's executors, Mr Lee's daughter Wei Ling and son Hsien Yang, had claimed that the estate was entitled to use and have copies of the oral history transcripts of the late Mr Lee done in the early 1980s, as it held the copyright after Mr Lee's death on March 23 last year.

But the court agreed with the government that Mr Lee Kuan Yew's right to grant permission for access, copies and use was personal to him, and it was not his intention for his estate to have free use or custody of the transcripts.

In his judgment, Justice Tay Yong Kwang noted that the late Mr Lee, in drafting an agreement on the transcripts over 30 years ago, emphasised the political sensitivity of the material and the need to safeguard their confidentiality. Justice Tay added that the transcripts were protected under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and the estate could not g…