5-2-2025 (SINGAPORE) A former senior staff sergeant with the Singapore Police Force was executed today for a double homicide that shocked the island nation in 2013.
Iskandar bin Rahmat, 46, was put to death at Changi Prison following his 2015 conviction for the brutal murders of two men in what became known as the Kovan double murders.
The execution comes after multiple unsuccessful appeals and clemency petitions to Singapore’s president. Singapore Police Force officials confirmed that Iskandar had received full legal representation throughout his trial and subsequent appeals process.
The gruesome killings occurred on 10 July 2013, when Iskandar, then a 14-year veteran of the force, murdered car workshop owner Tan Boon Sin, 67, and his son Tan Chee Heong, 42, in a premeditated robbery attempt driven by mounting personal debts exceeding S$60,000.
Court documents revealed that Iskandar had leveraged his position as an investigating officer to identify Tan senior as a target after handling a theft report that indicated substantial cash holdings in a safe deposit box. On the day of the murders, which coincided with a critical debt repayment deadline, Iskandar lured the elder Tan to his Hillside Drive residence before stabbing him 27 times.
In a tragic turn of events, the younger Tan stumbled upon the scene and was also attacked. In what witnesses described as horrifying scenes, the victim was dragged for nearly a kilometre under Iskandar’s getaway vehicle through the Kovan neighbourhood.
The perpetrator fled across the causeway to Malaysia but was apprehended by authorities at a Johor Bahru restaurant following an intensive 54-hour manhunt. His capture and subsequent trial drew widespread media attention, particularly given his position as a law enforcement officer.
A spokesperson for the Singapore Police Force stated: “Capital punishment is reserved exclusively for the most grievous offences, including murder. This case represents a severe breach of public trust by a serving officer of the law.”
