Lee Kuan Yew, who is Singapore's most senior statesman and the founding minister seen as responsible for the city-state's economic miracle, is being treated in a hospital for a grave case of pneumonia.

Lee, who celebrated his 91^st birthday in September last year, was taken to a medical facility on February 5, the prime minister's office said.

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In a statement on Saturday, the office said Lee's condition has stabilized but he remains hooked to mechanical ventilation in the hospital's intensive care unit. He is lightly sedated and conscious, the prime minister's office added.

Although Lee has steered clear of the political and public scene in recent years, his well-being is being closely observed as he is still considered an influence wielder in the government of his oldest son, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Singapore's current prime minister said on his Facebook page that he paid his father a visit on Saturday morning, wished his father a smooth recovery and greeted him a happy Lunar New Year.

Lee Hsien Loong said this was the first year in a very long time that he and his father could not attend their traditional family reunion dinner.

The prime minister, who himself has just checked out from the hospital last week, is recovering from a successful surgical treatment of his prostate cancer.

The elder Lee Kuan Yew managed to make the tiny Southeast Asian nation into one of the world's richest countries during his three-decade rule as prime minister.

He had left public life starting 2011 when he quit his cabinet position after the dominant People's Action Party suffered its worst defeat at general polls since the city-state gained independence.

The senior statesman has shied away from public appearances in past couple of months.

TagsLee Kuan Yew, pneumonia