Tuesday and Fridays were the days that court ordered canings were carried out at the Changi Women's Prison in Singapore. Janet Tan knew that even after only a few days as an inmate. Everyone in the prison knew it, whether they were one of the unfortunate souls, like Janet, who had been sentenced to receive that most dreaded punishment or not.

She remembered her conversation with one of the veteran inmates, Sunita Das, as they had walked their circuit of the exercise yard yesterday. "I got my six on a Tuesday not long after coming in here," she had confided to Janet. "They like to do it fairly soon, to get it over with," she had continued. "But they don't tell you ahead of time. They just show up some time after breakfast and take you for your medical exam. That's when you'll know."

"Medical exam?" Janet had asked.

"Yeah, they want you to suffer, but they don't want you dying. That would make trouble. But don't worry; a healthy girl like you, slim, in good shape. You'll pass with flying colors, lucky you!"

Janet had always prided herself on keeping in shape; even when things were terribly busy at work or she was travelling, she set time aside to run in the park or on a treadmill. At 33, she could easily pass for five or even ten years younger.

"So, did it, you know, hurt a lot?"

Sunita laughed. "Oh, my dear, you can't even imagine. If hell is half that bad, I'm gonna be good, so I don't go there. How many are you getting?"

"Eight," Janet replied.

Sunita shook her head. "My sympathies. Six was bad enough, thank you very much. And how many years?"

"Ten," Janet replied.

"What did you do? Don't worry, the rules in here say you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, though somehow everyone finds out pretty quickly. There are inmates who work in the Admin offices and get to glance at paperwork. There aren't a lot of secrets in here."

"That's OK," Janet replied. "I don't mind talking about it because I'm innocent."

Sunita pointed at the other prisoners walking the circuit. "Ask ten of them and nine will tell you they're innocent. Not me though; I did it. I was a bookkeeper and I embezzled from my employer; I set up a phony company and submitted fake invoices and wrote checks to pay them. It served them right for paying me so little. What about you?"

"They said I defrauded my investors by making false claims about a device we were working on that people could wear to monitor their vitals. But they weren't really false; the device would have worked, we just needed more time to develop it. Now, of course, they put us out of business so it won't happen. Someone in Silicon Valley will do it and too bad for Singapore. Like those guys there never exaggerate."

"Well maybe the judges in America are more willing to forgive a little white lie," Sunita replied. "And of course, no caning there. But you'll get through it; everyone does. And you'll get through your ten years, too. I'm halfway through my six and I can do the rest, no problem. Just keep your head down; some of these girls are mean."

Janet looked around at her fellow inmates. She had no reason to doubt what Sunita had said; quite a few looked like she would be well advised not to piss them off. One of the guards banged her truncheon on the metal bars of the gate that led to the exercise yard. "Alright, ladies, time's up! Back inside! Let's go!"

The prisoners began heading for the gate. "Thanks for cluing me in, Sunita. I think I can face it if I know what to expect. I guess I'll be seeing you around," Janet said.

"Yeah, you will. Like where else am I gonna go, right?" Sunita replied.