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Funeral parlour's licence suspended, licensee to be charged after wrong body cremated: NEA

SINGAPORE – A funeral parlour's licence has been suspended and its licensee set to be charged after a mix-up resulted in a wrong body being cremated.

Funeral parlour's licence suspended, licensee to be charged after wrong body cremated: NEA
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SINGAPORE – A funeral parlour's licence has been suspended and its licensee set to be charged after a mix-up resulted in a wrong body being cremated.

In response to CNA’s queries, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Saturday (Jan 4) that it has issued a notice to suspend the licence of Century Products funeral parlour after investigations showed that proper records were not kept of bodies received or removed from its premises.

An inspection of Century Products' premises by NEA on Dec 31, 2019 also confirmed the breaches, the agency said.

MIX-UP SAID TO BE FIRST REPORTED CASE HERE

The Straits Times (ST) had reported last Friday (Jan 3) about the mix-up which took place on Dec 30. It is believed to be the first reported case of a wrong body being cremated here.

The send-off for the late Kee Kin Tiong, 82, had been done according to Christian traditions and funeral rites, when the man was a Taoist, his family said.

The family had reportedly been at their home's void deck to receive Kee’s body for the wake, only to be told by staff of funeral home Harmony Funeral Care that his body had already been cremated.

The other body belonged to a 70-year-old man, but Harmony Funeral Care did not say what happened to it.

The two bodies had been lying in the same room at Century Products, which performed the embalming.

According to ST’s report, Mr Kee’s son-in-law, who wanted to be identified only as Mr Ho, said the funeral home revealed the mix-up had been caused by a male staff collecting Kee’s body by mistake from Century Products.

COMPANIES TAKEN TO TASK FOR ‘EGREGIOUS ERROR’: NEA

For the infringements, Century Products’ licensee will be charged under the Environmental Public Health (Funeral Parlours) Regulations.

"The National Environment 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," said an NEA spokesperson.

NEA also investigated the actions of the implicated funeral director of Harmony Funeral Care.

Insufficient measures were put in place by the funeral director to ensure the proper handling of the body, resulting in the "egregious error", NEA added.

"NEA 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," the spokesperson said. 

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Funeral licence Century Products funeral parlour NEA breach

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