Hi this is Ivan and you are listening to radio heatwave.

Well Today I’ll be bring you on a journey into History as we discuss about the execution of Flor Contemplacion and its repercussions on the diplomatic relationship between Singapore and the Philippines.

Flor Contemplacion is a Filipina maid who was charged for the murdering of another Filipina maid, Delia Maga and Nicholas Huang, the three-year-old Singaporean son of her employer on May 4th 1991.

During she was being detained by the police, Flor admitted to the charges upon her and after a trial, she was sentenc ed to death by hanging.

Now, the big Hoo-ha about the execution of Flor Contemplacion is that some Filipinos thinks that she is innocent and framed by the parents of Nicholas Huang after two inmates revealed that Flor told them she was innocent one week before the execution.

However, the Singaporean Home Affairs Ministry released a statement, which dismissed the claims and said that. "They are pure fabrication," The ministry said "The wild and baseless allegations are yet another attempt to stir up controversy over the Flor Contemplacion case, without any regard for the truth."

The statement also pointed out that Flor had had ample opportunity to protest her innocence while in jail and had chosen not to do so.


The Filipinos were angry that the personal pleas from the country’s president were ignored by Singapore. That was when things escalated to become a matter of “national pride” to the Philippines.

However, the Singapore judiciary system never succumbed to any foreign pressure.

Flor contemplacion was executed on the 17th of March 1995.

And when her body was returned to the Philippines, the president’s wife, Amelita, received her body personally at the airport.

Mourners waved white handkerchiefs while others carried placards saying "Justice for Flor Contemplacion" in Manila's streets.

President Ramos and the Philippine people saw Contemplacion as a heroine and that was rather ironic for a country, which was actively trying to restore the death penalty.



The aftermath was huge

In 1995, Singapore’s investment in Philippines fell to a low 3.7 million from the record $65 million the previous year.

The Filipinos were also unhappy their own government's inability to protect their domestic workers overseas and burned Singapore's flag in front its embassy in Manila.

At one point, they even hurled explosive devices at a Singapore Airlines office as well as the Philippine Foreign Ministry.

Both nations recalled ambassadors, while Manila criticized Singapore's diplomat for not being sensitive while handling the issue.

Like the Michael Fay incident, the Flor Contemplacion incident had a lot of international attention and was very heavily covered by the media. Many of the older folks still remember the incident. Mr Felix Tan was one of them

FELIX’S INTERVIEW HERE.

Well after over ten years, nobody can tell who’s wrong and who’s right. All we have are posts on Wikipedia telling us what happened then. Whether she’s innocent or not? I don’t know, you decide.

However, the incident did highlight the plight that some foreign workers are facing in Singapore and brought a lot of improvements to their living conditions here. So I would call it a blessing in disguise.

But I do believe that she is innocent because I am Singaporean and I stick to my government’s decision.

This is Ivan signing off and thank you for listening. ☺