In the early hours of March 17, 1995, Filipino maid Flor Contemplacion was awoken at Changi Prison in Singapore. The 42-year-old mother - convicted of killing another maid and a three-year-old boy - had an appointment with the hangman.
Security was tighter than usual. Singapore's decision to execute the Filipino had caused a serious diplomatic breach between the city state and the Philippines. Many Filipinos working in Singapore as domestic helpers had returned to their homeland in disgust. Others organised protests.
Filipinos responded very emotionally to Contemplacion's plight. With so many of their countrymen working overseas, often in adverse circumstances, they felt particularly vulnerable to any unfair treatment. In the past, some Filipinos had been victims of great injustices - particularly in places with harsh laws, such as Saudi Arabia.
Singapore argued that Contemplacion was no victim, but a calculating double murderess. Outside the prison, police officers - some dressed in flak jackets and armed with machine guns - were on alert. Other officers in cars and on motorcycles patrolled the streets nearby.
They were ready in case some of Singapore's 75,000 Filipinos decided to vent their anger. The previous Sunday, in Hong Kong, groups of Filipino maids held a candle-light vigil in Chater Gardens, offering prayers and support for Contemplacion. The condemned woman's fate had aroused considerable interest in Hong Kong. Three young people from the territory, Poon Yuen-chung, 22, Tong Ching-man, 24, and Lam Cheuk-wang, 24, were also waiting to be executed. They had been caught drug trafficking in July 1991.
In January, Angel Mou Pui-peng, a Hong Kong-Macau resident, had been hanged for drug trafficking - despite pleas for clemency from then governor Chris Patten.
Pope John Paul was also appealing for mercy for Contemplacion. But Singapore was adamant: outsiders would not interfere. Its senior minister and founding father, Lee Kwan Yew, had argued that Singapore's tough penalities helped create a society with a very low crime rate.