Among them on Sunday was Ms Sharon Wee, 42, and her family, who made their way to Choa Chu Kang Chinese cemetery to tidy up her grandmother's grave and to pay their respects.

The actual date for the festival is this Saturday, but memories of the crush last year persuaded Ms Wee, a civil servant, to schedule her family's observance of the ritual earlier.

She was not the only one thinking this way. By mid-afternoon, the narrow byways of the cemetery were filled with cars.

Dozens of families picked their way to the grave sites, spruced up the graves of their loved ones, left food offerings and burned joss paper.

Read the full report in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.