Lee Kuan Yew Death: Singapore Bakery Pulls Bun Named After Leader Following Criticism

BreadTalk Group, a bakery chain in Singapore, apologized and pulled "RememberingLKY" bun, which it introduced as a tribute to the late leader Lee Kuan Yew, who died Monday. The bakery’s decision came after it was slammed on social media for using the death of the country's founding father as a marketing ploy to sell its products, media reports said.

"Our intent was to create a commemorative product in memory of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew whom we deeply respect. Together with all Singaporeans, the passing of our Founding Prime Minister is deeply felt by all of us at BreadTalk," the bakery chain said on its Facebook page, adding: "We are made aware that this manner of remembering his legacy was insensitive in light of the current context."

The bakery said it will stop the sale of the product from all outlets "with immediate effect."

“As was our original intent to commit 100% of the buns’ sales proceeds to charity, BreadTalk will still be donating $30,000 [$21,990]; the projected sales proceeds, to Community Chest,” the bakery added in the statement.

Lee, who has been credited with transforming Singapore into a financial hub, was admitted to Singapore General Hospital's intensive care unit for severe pneumonia. Since his death, several people have tried to create different ways to pay tribute to the beloved leader during the week-long mourning.

Teo Ser Luck, a member of Lee's ruling People's Action Party (PAP), introduced an exercise routine "LKY91," based on the leader’s name and age. However, he was also criticized for the move and one Facebook user asked him to be "sensible enough to know it is the mourning week for [the] whole nation," GMA Network, a local news network reported.