Thai PM attends funeral of Lee Kuan Yew

BANGKOK, March 29 (TNA) - Thailand’s Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha on Sunday afternoon attended the state funeral of Singapore’s first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew held amid heavy rains in the Southeast Asian island country. Accompanied by his wife and high ranking Thai officers, Gen. Prayut arrived in Singapore early Sunday from Kuala Lumpur after attending a wedding party of a daughter of Malaysia’s prime minister. The wedding party was held on Saturday. Undeterred by the heavy downpours, tens of thousands of Singaporeans lined over 15 kilometres route to witness the funeral procession of their first prime minister who had ruled Singapore 31 years and brought prosperity and strong economy to the country to date. While Mr. Lee’s coffin covered inside a glass casing to protect from the heavy rain moved from parliament and passed several landmarks of the country, four howitzers began firing a 21-gun salute and F-16 aircraft of Singapore air force flew over the sky. The funeral procession stopped in front of the National University of Singapore where the funeral ceremony of Mr. Lee who died at the age of 91 would be held and witnessed by government leaders and representatives from countries around the world. Gen. Prayut, his wife and accompanying delegates are scheduled to arrive home at 7.10 p.m. Sunday. (TNA)