All had been going well in a weekly cabinet meeting at the Istana yesterday when Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat suddenly collapsed after suffering a stroke.
It was at 5.34pm yesterday that the 54-year-old collapsed, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that three doctors in Cabinet attended to the Heng and managed to resuscitate the “valuable member” of his team before the ambulance arrived.
After being taken to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the CT Scan revealed that he had a sudden stroke due to an aneurysm — a localised weakening of a blood vessel. Neurosurgery was carried out to relieve pressure in his brain — due to the bleeding — and the aneurysm was successfully closed. He remains under close supervision in the intensive care unit of Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
While Heng rests, many other ministers have come out to note on how valuable he is in the Cabinet. Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam stated that Heng had been carrying “an incredible load”, handling the Finance Ministry and various important projects, including one that has the task of charting Singapore’s economic future. Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam — who’s covering the Minister for Finance duties — called Heng “one of Singapore’s finest sons” and a “leader with much promise”.
Emotions flared up when a troll came trolling by in Shanmugam’s comment section.
The Home Affairs Minister got frosty… very frosty.
Heng is considered by political pundits to be a future leader of the country’s fourth-generation Government, and his ailment could be a setback in their upcoming plans this year.
