Kovan murder trial: Prosecution witnesses cast doubt on claims of self-defence
More details of the fatal wounds that killed father-and-son Tan Boon Sin and Tan Chee Heong emerged in court on Monday (26 Oct), as prosecution witnesses cast doubt on murder suspect Iskandar Rahmat's claims of self-defence.
Iskandar, 36, is on trial for the July 2013 killings of the Tans, aged 67 and 42, respectively, in Kovan. The former senior staff sergent with the Singapore Police Force had claimed that he only meant to rob the older Tan, but ended up killing both in self-defence after seizing a knife from the father.
Fleeing the scene in a silver Toyota Camry belonging to the elder Tan, Iskandar dragged the body of the younger Tan in the process for almost a kilometre before it was dislodged outside Kovan MRT station.
Noting that his client had earlier said that he grabbed the knife from Tan, defence lawyer Shashi Nathan said Tan may have attacked Iskandar continuously and that he was stabbed multiple times in an act of self defence by the accused.
But senior consultant forensic pathologist Gilbert Lau of the Health Sciences Authority, demurred. Noting that Iskanadar was a much younger man, he added, "If the injuries that Mr Tan had sustained were the result of self-defence by counsel's client, then it would have begged the question of why it was necessary for counsel's client to stab Mr Tan...a total of 12 times. To me, that would seem to be a quite excessive form of self-defence."
According to the autopsy report filed by Dr Lau, the blow that killed Tan senior was a "stab wound on the right jugular vein and the right external carotid artery". Tan junior was felled by a "deep incised wound across the front of the neck that had deeply incised the left sternomastoid mucles, transacted the sternohyoid and thyrohyoid muscles and perforated the left portion of the thyrohyoid membrane."
Stab wounds are caused by a stabbing motion, while incised wounds are caused by a slashing motion.
Dr Lau also raised the possibility that two knives might have been used to kill the Tans. Shown a sketch of the knife done by Iskandar - he claimed to have disposed of it in an East Coast Park canal but it was never recovered - Lau conceded that such a knife could have caused most of the duo's wounds, except for two injuries.
Meanwhile, Dr Kevin Lee, an orthopaedic doctor with Pinnacle Joint Sports Centre, also testified that Tan Boon Sin was suffering from end-stage osteoarthritis of the left knee and had been preparing for knee replacement surgery. His condition was such that his manner of walking was akin to a "waddle", said Lee. “When a person walks with a limp, the kind of speed they can go at is logically very, very limited.”
Asked by Deputy Public Prosecutor Prem Raj s/o Prabakaran if Tan could have charged up a flight of steps - as claimed by Iskandar - Lee responded: "Not without falling first."
Two other witnesses who lived near 14J Hillside Drive, where the Tans were killed, also took the stand - Salamah, 28, who was working as a domestic worker at 12 Hillside Drive, and Anthony Fabian, 56, a caretaker at 11 Hillside Drive. Both were doing manual chores at the time when Salamah was drawn by "three loud cries", while Fabian walked to the main gate of his property and saw a "motionless" Chinese man on the ground whose neck was "covered in blood".
Salamah, who spoke in Bahasa Melayu, testified through an interpreter that she then saw Iskandar walking to the back of the Camry, which was parked head first in the residence. Having seen the man on the ground - the younger Tan - he then reversed the car out, she said.
Fabian testified that the car "reversed very fast" and that he even heard "the engine revving".
Nathan stressed that his client maintained he never walked to the back of the car, nor did he see Tan lying on the ground. Pressed on this point, Salamah reaffirmed her testimony several times, "Yes, I saw him walking towards the left side (of the car). Yes, I'm sure."
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