Singapore—The former policeman convicted in the murder of a local businessman and his adult son in 2013 had failed in his attempt to obtain clemency for his death sentence.

In July, the Istana Office informed Peter Ong Lip Cheng, the lawyer of convicted former policeman Iskandar Rahmat, age 40, that President Halimah Yakob, upon the advice of the Cabinet, had chosen for Mr Iskandar’s sentence to stand.

Earlier this year, as spokeswoman from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told The Straits Times (ST), “Iskandar Rahmat’s clemency petitions were received by the President’s Office in January and February 2018. His clemency petitions are being reviewed and the petitioners will be updated of the results in due course.”

Mr Iskandar’s family has also been notified of the results of the clemency position, according to a spokesman from the MHA.

Mr Ong said, “This has been a very challenging task, given the circumstances of the case, and I tried my best.”

The Kovan double murder

Tan Boon Sin was stabbed to death by Mr Iskandar some six years ago, on July 10, 2013. The 67-year-old businessman was stabbed multiple times and his body was found in his home at 14 Hillside Drive.

Mr Iskandar also killed the 42-year-old son of Mr Tan, Tan Chee Heong. When the younger Mr Tan attempted to run after Mr Iskandar, the former policeman stabbed him and Mr Tan’s body got stuck and dragged under the car that Mr Iskandar used to flee the scene of the crime.

Witnesses saw his body dragged along Upper Serangoon Road under the silver Toyota Camry that had belonged to Tan Boon Sin, leaving a trail of blood that led all the way back to the older Mr Tan’s lifeless body in his house, The Straits Times (ST) reports.

Mr Iskandar has been in jail for the past 6 years. He had alleged in court that he had merely planned on robbing the older victim, but had needed to defend himself when Mr Tan also wielded a knife. During the fight between the two men, the older victim died due to his injuries.

The apex court rejected Mr Iskandar’s appeal in 2017, claiming that the former policeman had turned violent and that he had meant to kill his victims, “Even if his incredible account of a rob-and-run ploy were true, any right of self-defence belonged to the younger victim, who came home to the sight of his slain and bloodied father on the floor.”

Mr Iskandar has also asked for a High Court review of the Law Society’s decision to reject a complaint he made against his own lawyers last June.

“The IC (Inquiry Committee) had recommended that formal investigation of the complaints was not necessary. The (society’s governing) Council had accepted the recommendations of the Inquiry Committee,” said a representative from the Law Society.

The President’s decision to uphold capital punishment for the former police officer, who had served 14 years as a policeman, arrived exactly six years since Mr Iskandar killed Tan Boon Sin and Tan Chee Heong./ TISG

Read related: Kovan Double Murder: Ex-Cop Iskandar will hang

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