PHNOM PENH, March 23 -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday expressed his deepest sympathy to the government and people of Singapore over the death of former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.

"On behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Cambodian people, I would like to convey to Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is the son (of Lee Kuan Yew), the bereaved family, and the Singaporean people my deepest condolences for the death of His Excellency Lee Kuan Yew," Hun Sen said in a speech during the inauguration of a private-invested hotel here.

"Lee Kuan Yew was not only the founder of Singapore, but also the co-founder of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN)," he said. "In his whole life, if we observe, he had worked until his death."

Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding father, served as the country's prime minister from 1959 to 1990 and then as a senior minister and minister mentor. He died early Monday at the age of 91.