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‘Sufficient forensic evidence’ to link senior police officer to double murders

SINGAPORE – The suspect in Wednesday’s double murder in Kovan will be charged in court Monday, the police said on Saturday night.

SINGAPORE – The suspect in Wednesday’s double murder in Kovan will be charged in court Monday, the police said on Saturday night.

Earlier, Iskandar Rahmat was brought to the crime scene at Hillside Drive at 2.15pm, where he spent about 15 minutes in the terrace house before being whisked away in an unmarked police car. The 34-year-old was apprehended at 11.30pm on Friday night in a restaurant in Danga Bay, Johor, after having fled to Malaysia at 11pm on Wednesday, the day of the murders.

Iskandar held the rank of senior staff sergeant at the Bedok police division. He was an investigation officer, but was removed from his position as he was facing disciplinary proceedings over his failure to declare his financial difficulties. Civil servants have to make a yearly declaration that they are not undischarged bankrupts or facing debts.

Police investigators said on Saturday that Iskandar was in debt for personal domestic situation but was not known to be a gambler. They believe that Mr Tan Boon Sin, 67, was killed before his son Tan Chee Heong, 42, but refused to be drawn on whether there was a motive in the killings, citing the need to interview the suspect first. Among the things they hope to establish during the interviews would be whether Iskandar had allegedly used his identity or responsibility as a police officer in the murders.

Iskandar’s neighbours at Kim Keat Avenue said the family kept to themselves, and had never heard of any commotion or seen any creditors looking for them. An elderly couple and a younger couple lives in the three-room flat, they said.

A family friend told Channel NewsAsia that Iskandar – who attended a top boys’ school here - is single and supports his family financially.

An undated article on the Singapore Police Force website recounted a letter of appreciation for Iskandar. The article, which has since been removed, also quoted the commanding officer as saying that Iskandar was “deserving of being the pride of Bedok North NPC”.

Understood to be a fan of vintage bikes, Iskandar owned a Vespa scooter, probably the same one he used to make his getaway across the Causeway.

According to the New Straits Times, Iskandar entered Johor through the Woodlands checkpoint at 11.17pm on Wednesday. The Singapore Police, which identified the suspect’s identity within 18 hours, then released Iskandar’s profile, and through Interpol, requested that Johor police keep a lookout for the suspect.

Shortly after Iskandar was extradited back to Singapore, plainclothes police officers entered the Kim Keat flat at about 2.15pm. A team from the Police Forensics Management Branch then arrived with boxes and cordoned off the flat as a crime scene. They were seen putting brown bags into clear evidence bags and left about half an hour later. The doors of the flat remained shut after the police left and it was not clear who was home at the time.

The Police said they have collected more than 150 cases exhibits during the course of their investigations, “with sufficient forensic evidence” gathered to tie Iskandar to the two murders. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ASHLEY CHIA

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