The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Saturday, January 4 that they have suspended the licence of a funeral parlour after a wrong body was cremated. The agency also stated that parlour's licensee also set to be charged due to the occurrence of such a situation.
As per NEA, after an investigation showed that the funeral parlour Century Products did not keep proper records of bodies received or removed from its premises, they decided to suspend its license.
Investigation of the funeral parlour
Last year, on December 31 an inspection at Century Products by NEA revealed the issues. After the completion of the investigation, it was decided that the license will be charged under the Environmental Public Health (Funeral Parlours) Regulations for the violations.
As reported by Channel NewsAsia, an NEA spokesperson stated that the agency takes a serious view of licensees, "who fail to ensure that their funeral parlours with embalming facilities keep proper records and uphold environmental hygiene standards."
Another funeral parlour under the radar
As mentioned by NEA, their officials also investigated the actions of the involved funeral director Harmony Funeral Care. It mentioned that the director has applied insufficient measures to ensure the proper handling of the body which caused the "egregious error."
The NEA spokesperson mentioned that the agency will bar Harmony Funeral Care "from the use of government after-death facilities at Mandai Crematorium and Choa Chu Kang Crematorium and Cemetery until it can demonstrate to NEA that it has implemented satisfactory measures to prevent such future errors."
What happened?
In the recent incident, an 82-year-old deceased man, Kee Kin Tiong, was cremated according to Christian traditions and funeral rites, while his family said that he was a Taoist. The other body belonged to a 70-year-old unnamed man. However, Harmony Funeral Care did not mention what happened to his body.
The law
It should be noted that the convicts will face a fine of up to $1,000. In the case of a second or subsequent conviction, the offenders can be fined up to $2,000.
