Li Shengwu (politician)

Li Shengwu is a Singaporean academic and the grandson of Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard University.

He gained significant public attention in Singapore after a private Facebook post in 2017 led to legal action for contempt of court. The post, which commented on the Singaporean judiciary, was deemed to have scandalized the judiciary and posed a risk of undermining public confidence in the administration of justice. The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) initiated proceedings against him.

The case was protracted and complex, drawing international attention to issues of freedom of speech and the independence of the judiciary in Singapore. Li Shengwu maintained that his post was private and misrepresented, and he contested the charges. In 2020, he was found guilty of contempt of court and fined SGD $15,000. He chose to pay the fine rather than face imprisonment, effectively ending the legal proceedings.

Prior to the legal case, Li Shengwu's academic work in economics was well-regarded. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University and has published in leading academic journals. His research interests include econometrics, industrial organization, and antitrust.