Suspect behind fake message on ex-Singapore PM helping in probe

A Singaporean student suspected of manipulating a statement on a government website to proclaim the death of criticall ill former Singapore prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, and circulating it on social media is helping the police in the investigation into the case, media reported.

On Friday, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) issued a news release saying that at about 10 p.m. on Wednesday, police were alerted to multiple messages being circulated regarding a screenshot image of a statement purportedly from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) website, according to a Channel News Asia report.

The PMO lodged a police report on Wednesday night.

Police established the identity of the suspect within 24 hours, SPF said. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect was believed to have modified a PMO media statement in 2010 hosted on the PMO website and subsequently sent out a photo of the modified content.

"The suspect is a male Singaporean student, below 16 years of age, and is believed to have operated alone," SPF added.

The student is assisting the police with investigations for an offence, which carries a punishment of a fine of up to S$50,000 (nearly $37,000) or imprisonment for a term of up to 10 years or both.

The doctored image prompted broadcasters CNN and CCTV to post erroneous tweets and report inaccurately that Lee had died.

Lee has been hospitalised in the Singapore General Hospital since February 5, when he was admitted with severe pneumonia. The critically ill former prime minister of Singapore remains in the intensive care unit (ICU).