Kovan murder trial: Accused ‘hatched intricate robbery plot’

SINGAPORE — More than two years after a chilling double murder in Kovan — allegedly committed by an active police officer — stunned the nation, the trial of Iskandar Rahmat began today (Oct 20) in front of a packed courtroom that included the widows of the father-and-son victims. 

As prosecutors told of a 14-year veteran in the force hatching an intricate robbery scheme that involved a “ruthless attack” on a father and son, defence lawyers cast doubt on the theory by questioning the origins of the murder weapon, which was never found.

Iskandar, 36, was interdicted from service after he was charged in court three days after the killings on July 10, 2013. In the dock today, Iskandar, who appeared to have lost considerable weight, kept his head bowed throughout the six-hour hearing. 

The court heard that he had eyed Mr Tan Boon Sin’s money to clear a S$60,000 bank debt which would avert a possible sacking from the force, say prosecutors. As part of the robbery, Iskandar allegedly plunged a small knife with serrated edges into the 67-year-old car workshop owner’s neck and face “viciously and repeatedly”, then launched a similar assault on the victim’s son Chee Heong, 42, before intentionally reversing the getaway car into the young man. 

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In challenging the two counts of murder against Iskandar under section 300(a) of the Penal Code, which entails the mandatory death penalty upon conviction, the defence contended that Iskandar’s hand was forced after the elder Mr Tan charged at him with a knife first. The questions they posed to a couple of the five witnesses on the stand today centred on whether the knife in question could have come from the crime scene at Hillside Drive semi-detached house — a theory the woman who lost her husband and son that day rubbished.

The 60 or so members of the public attending the hearing today saw a sketch of the murder weapon made by Iskandar, who told police he tossed a bag containing the knife and his bloodied clothes into a canal in East Coast Park but these were never found.

The court was also shown closed-circuit television footage from a neighbour where distressing groans could be heard for a couple of seconds before a silver Toyota Camry belonging to the elderly victim reversed out of the house and drove off, leaving a pool of blood.

In his opening statement, Deputy Public Prosecutor Lau Wing Yum said evidence will be tendered to show that Iskandar stabbed the elder Mr Tan almost 20 times, killing him with a fatal blow to the neck. The prosecution also alleged that after his son entered the house and cried out “Pa” to the horrific scene, Iskandar stabbed him more than 11 times. Iskandar then allegedly reversed the car into the son and dragged him for more than 1km before his body was dislodged outside Kovan MRT station. The car was found dumped at an industrial park in Eunos where Mr Tan’s car workshop was located previously.

Investigations showed that Iskandar entered Malaysia on his scooter at 11pm that night. Two days later, Malaysian police arrested Iskandar and extradited him. He was charged on July 13, 2013 - three days after the murders. 

The suspect and victim crossed paths eight months earlier, although they never met face to face. Then, Iskandar, a Senior Staff Sergeant at Bedok Police Division, was assigned to the elder Mr Tan’s reports that some of his old Singapore currency had been stolen from a safe deposit box he kept with Certis CISCO.

The case was soon handed over to another officer looking into the spate of thefts at the security firm happening then.

Iskandar’s financial problems started soon after his divorce in 2005. Although OCBC sold his car and flat, Iskandar still owed more than S$60,000.

By June 2012, his superiors found out about the matter and four months later OCBC filed bankruptcy applications against Iskandar.

After he faced disciplinary proceedings on July 3, 2013, where he was warned that a possible consequence of his financial embarrassment was dismissal from the force, Iskandar promised his employer and the bank to clear his debt with an out-of-court lump sum payment of S$50,000.

The money would come from a cousin, he said, although records show no such person. In fact, his bank account had less than S$400 at that time.

On the deadline of his settlement on July 10, Iskandar called the elder Tan, posing as an officer with the police’s intelligence department and cooked up stories about a “highly confidential” operation to snag thieves who would be striking the safe deposit boxes again the same day.

DPP Lau said Iskandar convinced the man to empty his safe deposit box and place a dummy spy camera inside, then escorted him back to his home.

To keep up appearances, Iskandar cut a mobile phone earpiece and attached it to his bracelet as a “walkie-talkie” and rented a car to appear more “professional”.

More than a week after the killings, police officers found an orange plastic bag containing old Singapore notes amounting to about S$200,000 and some jewelry which was stowed away deep in a storage area under the staircase of the elder Tan’s three-storey house. The prosecution said that the elder Tan hid the bag before the attacks, while Iskandar told police in a statement that he wanted to steal the bag. 

On July 10, 2013, the police received a call about the bodies at about 3.40pm. It was more than three hours later, at around 7pm, before the elder Tan’s widow, who was out meeting a friend, learnt of the tragedy.

A total of 102 witnesses had been slated to take the stand over two tranches of this trial. The defence team led by lawyer Shashi Nathan indicated today that he only needed to cross-examine 15 of the witnesses. The duration of the trial could be cut as a result. The hearing continues on Thursday. 

Updates from today's trial here: #kovanmurder Tweets