Veteran Singaporean actor Raffi Khan dies of cancer at age 61

Veteran Singaporean actor Raffi Khan died on Wednesday night (Oct 23) after a lengthy battle with rectal cancer. Raffi had starred in multiple Mediacorp productions over the years including the iconic Malay soap opera Gelora.

Speaking to the Malay-language news outlet BERITAmediacorp, Raffi's niece Nur Zalina Ismail said that the late actor was admitted to Sengkang Community Hospital "about three weeks ago".

His son Mohammad Shaqeer Khan S/O Mohammad Raffi added that Raffi was diagnosed with Stage 4 rectal cancer in December 2021 and had undergone chemotherapy. However, he stopped the treatment in October 2023.

"[My father's] physical condition forced him to stop receiving treatment. The pain was too severe, and the treatment he underwent showed no significant progress," said Shaqeer.

"After the last treatment, [my father] gave up because he was too sick and tired. There was also not much progress from the treatment."

According to Shaqeer, Raffi's last words to him were: "Take care of the family."

He is survived by his wife, three children and seven grandchildren.

Many celebrities have since expressed their condolences including Shahrizal Salleh (better known as Chef Bob), Shah Iskandar, Jatt Ali and Norfasarie.

Raffi is expected to be buried on Thursday morning.

In a statement, a Mediacorp spokesperson said: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of veteran actor Raffi Khan. Raffi was well known and regarded for his work on some of our popular dramas such as Gelora, Zakat Zakaria and Poskad Dari Alhambra.

"This is a devastating loss and we offer our deepest condolences to Raffi's family."