Police investigating man who offers ride to PM Lee’s son, takes video without consent
SINGAPORE — A police report has been lodged regarding videos taken of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s son, Mr Li Yipeng, who was offered a ride in a private car driven by a 31-year-old Singaporean man.
In the videos, the man, who had offered and given Mr Li a ride, was heard asking the 36-year-old repeatedly to confirm his identity, his residential address and the security arrangements for him.
The videos were taken without Mr Li’s knowledge or permission, the police said in a statement.
The man has been identified and is assisting the police with their investigations.
“The Police are looking into the matter with the assistance of the driver because the nature of the questions raises serious security concerns, given Mr Li’s background,” the statement said.
The car is not a private-hire vehicle and the 31-year-old man was previously convicted in 2014. In response to media queries, the police said that the man was convicted of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent under the Road Traffic Act and an offence of driving without a valid insurance under the Road Traffic Act was taken into consideration during sentencing in 2014.
The police are also investigating the circulation of a photo showing a Facebook posting purportedly made by Mr Lee about the incident.
“The contents of this photo have been established to be fake,” the police said. “A 39-year-old man is assisting Police in this investigation.”
The press secretary to the Prime Minister, Ms Chang Li Lin, said that Mr Lee is aware of the incident, the videos and the fake Facebook post.
“It is of concern that a vulnerable person can be taken advantage of like this,” Ms Chang said. Past reports have mentioned that Mr Li has Asperger's syndrome and is an albino.
“Yipeng happens to be PM’s son, but many other vulnerable persons go about Singapore on their own, and they must be able to do so safely, without being taken advantage of or harassed and without their privacy being breached.
“As the matter is under Police investigation, he will not comment further. PM Lee thanks the members of public who have expressed concern about the matter.”
Some netizens have blasted the attitude of the driver. One Mel Edwards commented on ROADS.sg’s Facebook page: “Wot a stupid taxi driver. Trying to be famous by secretly filming someone who is just minding his own business.”
On the YouTube page where the video was posted, user Ken Chua asked: “What’s with the driver’s patronising tone and comments?”
