[Part I] Abuses in the funeral industry: What has changed since January 2020?
This is the first of a two-part coverage and commentary on the abuses in the funeral industry reported in the mainstream press since January 2020.
Context
In early January 2020, staff of Harmony Funeral Care and Century Products Company mixed up the bodies of two elderly men, one of whom, was wrongly cremated. This subsequently led to the suspension and debarment of both funeral companies for a mere six weeks, resulting in a letter sent to The Straits Times forum, stating that the companies “got off with a mere slap on the wrist"(ST, Feb 19, 2020, "Errant funeral services firm let off easy").
In the same month, NEA issues stricter rules for licensed funeral parlours, and in June and October of the same year, the authorities issued two set of guidelines that governs the handling of the deceased in a funeral parlour and the transportation and transfer of the deceased.
In fact, prior to the January 2020 cremation mix-up, The Straits Times reported in June 2019 that a man had his mother’s body moved to another funeral parlour after an undertaker in Geylang Bahru allegedly left her body uncovered – the door of the funeral parlour was left ajar overnight, and some of the dogs in the vicinity had gone inside to sleep under the embalming tables.
However, it seems that, after three years, abuses and possible infringements continue to persist within the industry.
Tips-off by anonymous insider in December 2022
A pair of curious tip-offs within the funeral industry made it to the Dec 19 edition (page 6) of the Chinese language daily, Shin Min Daily News.
It was reported that two deceased persons, attached to a stretcher, were placed on the floor of a “congested” embalming facility. An anonymous insider stated that such an act is of “great disrespect to the deceased”. Based on the photo obtained by Shin Min, it does appear that both deceased persons were recently received into the care of the unnamed funeral company from the hospital/mortuary.
From: Anonymous insider
This act directly contravenes the “Guidelines for Handling Deceased in Funeral Parlour”, dated June 2020, issued by the National Environmental Agency (NEA) and published on the website of the Association of the Funeral Directors Singapore (AFD). Chapter 4, Section 4.6.1 states that "the authorised personnel shall ensure that the Deceased will be placed on the embalming table or any designated table/stretcher in the holding room/ embalming room/ preparation room. The Deceased shall not be placed on the finished floor level at ALL times."
Furthermore, the licensee of the said facility has also failed to exercise due diligence and/or sufficient care in ensuring in “determining the reasonable number of deceased bodies to be held in their holding area or holding room as well as the embalming and/or preparation room respectively” (Section 5.1.7). Chapter 5, Section 5.1.9 also states clearly that the licensee should “assign one table to each Deceased upon arrival.”
The aforementioned Dec 19 article also reported that “some funeral companies”, out of convenience, possibly to maximise their logistical resources, had transported two deceased person in one vehicle, described as an “inappropriate act” by the anonymous insider.
The latter, who tip-offs Shin Min, rhetorically posits a scenario where “one of the deceased persons is a male, and other is a female person, being transported together in the same vehicle” - we can only imagine the anguish and grief experienced by the bereaved family members, if they came to be aware of this arrangement of their loved ones.
Interestingly, the “Guidelines for Hearse Operators and Transportation of Deceased”, dated October 2020, issued by NEA, is silent on the number of the deceased persons that can be transported in a single vehicle. Chapter 3, Section 3.2.3 merely states that “to accord dignity to the deceased and bereaved family members, the deceased or casket should not be stacked on top of each other”.
Little is known on how that the guidelines are enforced and adhered to by each funeral company, and the frequency in which NEA conducts checks on the premises of the twenty-six licensed funeral parlours with embalming facilities (as of December 2022).
Since the publication of this article more than a week ago, there has been no response by NEA on the latest alleged abuses, and the actions it will take against any errant operator. Public trust is at stake here.
A spokesperson of the AFD states that “members or non-members, as professional funeral practitioners, should adhere to the guidelines” - the latter is likely an allusion to the two set of aforementioned guidelines. However, AFD is silent on what steps it will take to ensure that such abuses within the industry will not happen again.
The role of the AFD in uplifting the standards of the funeral industry remains unclear at best - AFD, though it positions itself as the "official representative of the funeral industry", remains a by-subscription, membership-based interest group.
As Singapore ages and more of us require the professional expertise of deathcare professionals, Singaporeans continue to remain in the dark on the abuses and possible infringements within the industry that have gone unreported.
The recent abuses and the infringement of the guidelines, in fact, should not come as a surprise.
As far Death Kopitiam Singapore was aware, there was another case of body-mix-up involving two funeral companies at a deathcare facility at Geylang Bahru in June 2022. It was our understanding that the body mix-up was resolved but not without the families being aware of this incident - the alleged incident took place at a deathcare facility (likely an embalming room) at 88 Geylang Bahru.
[14 June, 1830hrs] Death Kopitiam Singapore has come to understand that a case of body mix-up involving two funeral...
Posted by Death Kopitiam Singapore 死亡咖啡店 on Tuesday, 14 June 2022
