Iskandar bin Rahmat was born in Singapore on 3 February 1979. He was the only son in his family, with one sister. Not much is known about his early childhood, but by his twenties, Iskandar was already serving with the Singapore Police Force. He completed his secondary education at Victoria School, briefly studied at Singapore Polytechnic, and joined the police after his National Service. By 1999, he was officially part of the SPF as a corporal.

Throughout his career, Iskandar was regarded as a competent officer. In 2007, he became an investigation officer, and in 2012, the police force sponsored his diploma in Management and Police Studies at Temasek Polytechnic. His supervisors described him as efficient and knowledgeable, and he even received public commendations for his work. However, behind the accolades, Iskandar struggled with personal and financial problems.

After a failed marriage in 2003, Iskandar was burdened with debts from housing, renovation, and car loans. Though he made efforts to repay them, by mid-2013, he owed over S$61,000. Facing bankruptcy and disciplinary action for failing to declare his financial embarrassment (a requirement for civil servants), he was reassigned to administrative duties and barred from carrying arms.

On the afternoon of 10 July 2013, Singaporeans were shocked by a gruesome and bizarre incident outside Kovan MRT station. Commuters and drivers witnessed a silver Toyota Camry speeding by, dragging a man’s lifeless body underneath the vehicle. The body was eventually dislodged in front of the station, leaving a horrifying trail of blood stretching nearly one kilometer. The police were immediately alerted. Upon arrival, officers discovered the body of a man with multiple stab wounds and severe injuries to the head and neck. Later, he was identified as 42-year-old Tan Chee Heong.

Investigators followed the blood trail, which led them to a house on Hillside Drive. There, they discovered another body, that of 67-year-old Tan Boon Sin, the father of Chee Heong. His corpse was found inside the house, bearing 27 stab wounds mostly to the head, neck, and chest. Sock prints stained with blood led from the crime scene in a linear direction, which later helped in reconstructing the killer’s movements. Two eyewitnesses—a domestic helper named Salamah and a caretaker named Anthony Fabian—testified to seeing the attack unfold, including the moments when the killer fled the scene in the victim’s car, dragging the younger victim’s body.

The case shocked the public not just because of its brutality but also because of who the murderer turned out to be. Within two days, the suspect, Iskandar bin Rahmat, was arrested in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, at a seafood restaurant. At the time of the murders, Iskandar was a senior staff sergeant in the Singapore Police Force. His arrest and subsequent extradition back to Singapore caused widespread outrage and disbelief.

It was soon revealed that Iskandar was deep in financial trouble and facing possible bankruptcy. He had also recently undergone disciplinary proceedings in the police force. Driven by desperation, Iskandar had come up with a plan to rob Tan Boon Sin, whose case he had once handled. Using the alias "Rahman," Iskandar posed as an intelligence officer investigating a theft from Boon Sin's safe deposit box. He convinced Boon Sin to retrieve valuables and allow him into his home under the pretense of setting up a sting operation.

Once inside the house, the situation spiraled out of control. Iskandar claimed that Boon Sin saw through the ruse and attacked him with a knife, prompting Iskandar to stab him in self-defense. Forensic evidence, however, painted a very different picture. Tan Boon Sin had a degenerative knee condition, making it unlikely for him to initiate an attack. Moreover, the extent and location of his injuries suggested a deliberate and targeted assault, rather than an act of self-defense.

Moments later, Tan Chee Heong arrived at the house and saw his father either dying or already dead. According to Iskandar’s account, Chee Heong attacked him in a fit of rage. Iskandar claimed to have fought back out of panic. He stabbed Chee Heong multiple times before escaping in the stolen car. What he did not realize was that Chee Heong’s belt had gotten caught under the vehicle, leading to the younger man's body being dragged for over a kilometer before it was dislodged in front of Kovan MRT station.

The murder weapon, described by Iskandar as a kitchen knife with a grooved blade, was never recovered. His claim that it belonged to the victim was disputed by the prosecution. Forensic experts testified that the dimensions of the blade described by Iskandar were inconsistent with some of the deeper wounds found on the victims. Dr. Gilbert Lau, who conducted the autopsies, stated that the excessive force and number of wounds were consistent with a determined intent to kill.

Iskandar was charged with two counts of murder under Section 300(a) of the Penal Code. The trial began on 20 October 2015 and lasted nine days. Justice Tay Yong Kwang presided over the case. The defense argued that the murders were accidental and stemmed from a robbery gone wrong, with no intent to kill. They attempted to frame the killings as acts of sudden fight and self-defense. The prosecution, however, presented a compelling case that the murders were premeditated. They highlighted inconsistencies in Iskandar’s story, the improbability of his self-defense claims, and the forensic evidence pointing to a clear and brutal intent to kill.

On 4 December 2015, Justice Tay found Iskandar guilty of both murders and sentenced him to death. He called the killings cruel, excessive, and entirely avoidable. Appeals and clemency pleas were filed and subsequently denied. Although the legal process typically moves swiftly for capital cases in Singapore, Iskandar’s execution was delayed due to a series of legal challenges and procedural appeals, including complaints against his lawyers and constitutional motions challenging the death penalty.

On 5 February 2025, nearly twelve years after the murders, Iskandar was hanged at Changi Prison. His execution was confirmed by court sources, marking the end of one of Singapore’s most high-profile and disturbing murder cases. The Tan family, devastated by their double loss, expressed their relief that justice had finally been served. Tan Siew Ling, the daughter of Tan Boon Sin and sister of Tan Chee Heong, took over her father’s car workshop business and raised her brother’s sons as her own.