New guidelines on transfer of deceased during funeral proceedings issued after cremation mix-up

The guidelines will require funeral parlor operators to have a proper identification system, as well of hygiene precautions to minimise disease transmission. PHOTO: TIMOTHY FOO

SINGAPORE - Operators of funeral parlours will have to adhere to more stringent measures after a mix-up in January resulted in the wrong body being cremated.

In new guidelines released on Monday (Oct 19), the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Association of Funeral Directors said vehicles used to transfer the deceased must be cleaned and maintained appropriately, and the operators must ensure that the coffin is securely fastened before moving off.

The vehicles should also be enclosed to preserve the dignity of the dead.

NEA said the guidelines are to ensure that hearse operators and funerary personnel "meet high public health standards, accord dignity to the deceased and serve the needs of the bereaved families well".

They follow guidelines NEA and the association issued in June for the handling of the deceased in a funeral parlour.

Among other things, the funeral parlour guidelines require operators to have a proper system to identify the deceased.

Funeral parlours are to also ensure that there is a reasonable number of bodies in the embalming room, with the operators taking hygiene precautions to minimise the risk of disease transmission.

In January, NEA barred Harmony Funeral Care from using government after-death facilities after it was found to have insufficient measures in place to ensure the proper handling of the body.

The company was implicated in a mix-up which resulted in the first reported case of the wrong body being cremated in Singapore.

The send-off of an 82-year-old had been done according to Christian traditions and funeral rites when the man was a Taoist. The other body belonged to a 70-year-old man.

The bodies of both men had been lying in the same room at Century Products, a funeral parlour with embalming facilities, which had not kept proper records of the bodies received or removed from the premises.

Century Products is facing a criminal investigation.

In its statement on Monday, NEA said that from January next year, contractors intending to provide services at their cremation, burial and columbarium facilities must register with them first.

These services include exhumation, erection of tombstone and niche plaque related work.

The agency said this is to enhance the transparency of the industry and ensure the accountability of contractors.

Registration is free and contractors will need to register every three years.

NEA said contractors were informed of these requirements last Friday to give them sufficient time to register before the new rules kick in.

They added that appropriate action will be taken against registered contractors and their employees if they are found to have engaged in unauthorised activities.

They could be issued written warnings and have their registration withdrawn, depending on the seriousness of the breaches.

More information on the new guidelines can be found on NEA's website.

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