SINGAPORE - The body of founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew has come to rest at Sri Temasek in the Istana, the official residence of the prime minister, for a private family wake which will end on Tuesday evening.

Mr Lee, who died at the age of 91 on Monday, did not live in Sri Temasek but spent many happy moments taking strolls on the Istana's green lawns with his late wife.

On Monday afternoon, Mr Lee's casket was laid out in a simple room on the ground floor of the two-storey terrace house. It rested on a bed of orchids, predominantly white dendrobium orchids.

The mood at Sri Temasek was sombre, with staff members dressed in crisp white shirts and black trousers, with a black band around their left elbow that signified mourning.

President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, Cabinet ministers and MPs came to pay their respects to Mr Lee, with black ribbons pinned to their shirts.

Those who paid their respects at the wake on Monday afternoon include Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, DPM Teo Chee Hean, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Minister for Social and Family Development Chan Chun Sing.

Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and his wife Queen Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha, as well as Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing and his son Richard Li were also at the wake.

About 1,200 people paid their respects on Monday.