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Thousands of people lined Singapore’s streets on Wednesday as a gun carriage took the casket of Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of modern Singapore, to Parliament House for public viewing.
Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who died on Monday aged 91, was Singapore’s prime minister for 31 years and is seen as its founding father.
His funeral is on Sunday.
Chants of “Lee Kuan Yew” rang out from the crowd as the carriage entered the colonnaded Parliament House in the heart of the city-state’s business district, where his body would be moved the next day to a cultural centre for the funeral.
Earlier on Wednesday, his flag-draped coffin, accompanied by representatives of the military and government, was then carried from the Istana through the main shopping and business districts, before arriving at Parliament House.
The casket, wrapped in the Singaporean flag, was brought from the Istana palace, where the Singapore prime minister’s office is located and the Lee family held a private wake for the last two days. Bagpipers played “Auld Lang Syne” as the procession set off.
Lee was credited with transforming the city-state from a British colonial outpost into one of the world’s wealthiest nations on a per capita basis with a strong, pervasive role for the state and little patience for dissent.
Mr Lee’s body has been resting at the Istana – the official residence – for a private family mourning period. Thousands have already left flowers and message at its gates and signed books of condolence.
Officials said in a statement they were taken aback by the “overwhelming response” from the public. The viewing was meant to end at 20:00 local time but has since been extended twice.
Many organisations and businesses are gave employees time off to pay their respects.
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