The late Lee Kuan Yew’s lawyer Kwa Kim Li is set to testify in the High Court at 2.45pm on Thursday (3 December) on the fourth day of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s defamation suit trial against TOC chief editor Terry Xu.
Justice Audrey Lim, the judge presiding over the trial, in a closed-door hearing this morning dismissed Ms Kwa’s application to set aside Mr Xu’s subpoena on her to testify as a defence witness after hearing arguments on the matter.
Lim Tean of Carson Law Chambers appeared for Mr Xu, while Cavinder Bull of Drew & Napier appeared for Ms Kwa.
PM Lee’s lawyer Davinder Singh held a watching brief for his client.
Ms Kwa will be examined by Mr Lim and cross-examined by Mr Singh on the evidence in open court later today.
Ms Kwa, the niece of the late Mr LKY’s wife Kwa Geok Choo, is represented by lawyers from Drew and Napier. She was the lawyer tasked with drafting Mr LKY’s will and had admitted being part of drafting six of the seven wills from 2011 to 2012.
Ms Kwa, a senior partner at Lee&Lee, previously told The Straits Times that she did not prepare Mr LKY’s last will.
Dr LWL, however, alleged that Mdm Kwa had “extensively” discussed changes Mr LKY wanted to make to his will before he signed the December 2013 will — the seventh and final will.
“From late November 2013 all the way till Friday 13 December 2013, my father had had discussions and exchanged emails with KKL of Lee & Lee on what he wanted in his will. These included discussions of his immediately prior will.
“The will my father signed on Tuesday 17 December 2013 reflected these prior discussions with his lawyer KKL,” Dr LWL claimed in a Facebook post on 30 April last year.
Mr LHY similarly previously claimed that the will was “drafted by Kwa Kim Li of Lee&Lee”.
