SINGAPORE - When Mr Tan Chee Wee saw the hearse carrying the bodies of his older brother and father - victims of last Wednesday's Kovan double murder - leave the mortuary yesterday, he was overwhelmed, sobbing with a tissue paper over his mouth.
His uncle, Mr Ong Boon Kok, placed a comforting arm over his shoulder, The Straits Times reported online yesterday.
They were at the mortuary at 12.35pm to claim the bodies of Mr Tan Boon Sin, 67, and Mr Tan Chee Heong, 42. Also present was Mr Tan Chee Heong's widow.
They had arrived in two cars, one of which had "14J" on its licence plate, said Chinese evening paper Lianhe Wanbao.
Mr Tan Boon Sin had been killed in his 14J Hillside Drive corner terrace home.
His son, Mr Tan Chee Heong, had reportedly been run over by a silver Toyota Camry and dragged under the car for about 1km to a taxi stand outside Kovan MRT station in Upper Serangoon Road.
The Toyota's licence-plate number was SGM14J.
The older Mr Tan's wife was reportedly out at the time of the incident.
Other family cars with 14J on their licence plates were spotted near the Hillside Drive terrace home last week.
| Funeral rites for victims of Kovan double murder Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: ST, TNP, Facebook, TV screengrabs, Ong Boon Kok) | ||||
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
| Kovan murder victim identified Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: TNP, Lianhe Wanbao, ST, Facebook) | ||||
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  | ||
The "J" in 14J was supposed to represent a fishing hook, a fishing buddy of the older Mr Tan said in a report by The New Paper last Friday. This is because he liked fishing a lot, the buddy added.
As to why he embraced the number 14, the fishing buddy said the older Mr Tan never revealed the reason.
The hearse of the two murder victims arrived at the Teochew Funeral Parlour in Ubi yesterday afternoon, Wanbao reported yesterday.
The funeral is understood to be scheduled for tomorrow and they will be cremated at Mandai Crematorium.
Mr Ong, 49, who is the Tan family's appointed spokesman, said that Mr Tan Chee Heong had two children, aged four and 10, Shin Min Daily News reported.
School counsellors had been sent to check on the kids' situation and to counsel them, but they were fine, said Mr Ong.
He added that Mr Tan Chee Heong's widow was doing fine as well, with family members by her side to comfort her.
The murder suspect in the case, Senior Staff Sergeant Iskandar Rahmat, 34, is expected to be charged in court today. He is a 14-year veteran of the police force and a member of the Bedok Police Division.
He was nabbed in Johor Baru last Friday after a 54-hour manhunt.
He was declared a bankrupt last Thursday, one day after the murders, and was facing financial difficulties, as well as disciplinary proceedings.
Get My Paper for more stories.