S'pore FM suffers stroke during Cabinet meeting

Singapore's Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat, considered as a potential future premier, suffered a stroke on Thursday during a Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday. "We were having our weekly Cabinet meeting just now when Heng Swee Keat suddenly collapsed," Lee wrote on his FB page. "The doctors in Cabinet (we have three) attended to him immediately. We called an ambulance, which took him to TTSH," he said, referring to the state-run Tan Tock Seng Hospital. " 

A CT scan showed that he had had a stroke. Hope Swee Keat will be alright -- he is a valuable member of my team." 54-year-old Heng, an elected member of parliament, served as Education Minister from 2011 to 2015. He is among the younger ministers speculated by analysts and the media who can succeed Lee. 

Prior to entering politics, he was the Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the de facto central bank. Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean and other ministers took to Facebook wishing him early recovery. 

"Praying for the recovery of our colleague Swee Keat," he wrote. Deputy Tharman Shanmugaratnam wrote: "Let's hope and pray for Heng Swee Keat."