Fearless fighter, friend of the underdog

Born on Jan 7, 1955, to Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew and Madam Kwa Geok Choo, Dr Lee Wei Ling chose a role in life that she deemed relatively low-profile but which she said gave her satisfaction.

- Judith Tan Correspondent and Tham Yuen-C Senior Political Correspondent

Just four when her father became the country's first prime minister, she never went into politics and instead decided to become a medical doctor - which she referred to as her calling.

During a career that spanned 40 years, her patients were her preoccupation, and their stories often appeared in her writings when she became an occasional columnist for this newspaper from 2006 to 2016.

The paediatric neurologist was known for her stoicism and reserved manner, but those who knew her found a person of great depth, intelligence and unwavering principles, said Dr Stephen Phua, a university classmate.

Dr Lee, who never married, continued to live with her parents in their Oxley Road home and cared for them in their old age.

In 2020, she was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare, degenerative brain disorder that affects physical movements, eye movements and eventually swallowing, and can lead to serious complications such as pneumonia and choking.

Announcing her diagnosis in a Facebook post on Aug 8 that year, Dr Lee described it as a "rather nasty brain disease" that will result in death "for the fortunate".

"It would be nice if this entire episode turns out to be a nightmare and that I will wake up. But it is getting increasingly real and inescapable every day," she posted.

Dr Lee died peacefully at home at 38 Oxley Road on Oct 9, 2024. She was 69.

A BRAINY STUDENT

As a child, Dr Lee often accompanied her parents on official trips, and showed an insouciance that caught the eye of journalists.

She made the news when she ran up the Great Wall with nary a pause for breath during a visit to Beijing in 1976, and when she wore a samfoo to dinner with then British Prime Minister Edward Heath at 10 Downing Street in London in 1971.