Disrespectful': Funeral parlour at Sin Ming incurs public ire for placing bodies on the floor

[The_King]

When it comes to helping families grieve the loss of loved ones, funeral parlours play an important role — from handling the body of the deceased to putting together the funeral. 

Recently, a funeral parlour located at Sin Ming Drive has come under fire after it was discovered to have allegedly mishandled the bodies of the deceased, reported Shin Min Daily News. 

The Chinese daily recently received an anonymous tip-off from an insider, who claims to work at another funeral parlour. 

Speaking to Shin Min, the unidentified person said he received a photograph showing two bodies placed on the ground.

Three other bodies were also in the embalming room, placed atop the embalming tables. 

Commenting on the photo, the person, who did not name that parlour, said: "Putting the bodies on the floor is very disrespectful to the dead."

According to the National Environmental Agency (NEA)'s guidelines for funeral parlours, authorised personnel should ensure that the deceased is placed on an embalming table, and should not be placed on the floor at all times. 

Another anonymous insider also told Shin Min that there have been occasions where funeral parlours transport more than one body together — a practice that he says is a no-no. 

"Normally it's one body per vehicle, what if one of the deceased is a single female and her body is transported together with a male's? How do we answer to the family?" 

Unfortunately, the issue of overcrowding is not a new one for local funeral parlours and embalmers, who are sometimes forced to violate regulations to keep up with the number of bodies they receive, said the insider.

Some embalming rooms are only the size two carpark lots, meaning they can only fit up to three embalming tables.

With most embalmers serving more than one funeral parlour, overcrowding is almost inevitable, said this insider. 

In the comments, netizens were outraged at the bodies left on the floor, echoing the view that it was unacceptable.

'If there's really a manpower shortage, then don't take in so many clients. Putting the deceased on the floor is really disrespectful, they should be treated with respect. This is really unprofessional. Hopefully the authorities can do something about it.' PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook 'There are many people without morals in this industry.' PHOTO: Screengrab/Facebook

AsiaOne has contacted NEA for comment. 

Body mix-up 

Funeral parlours at Sin Ming Drive. PHOTO: Google Maps

Back in 2020, Harmony Funeral Care came under fire for mixing up the bodies of two men — one of which ended up being cremated prematurely. 

A representative from the funeral parlour told the Straits Times then that a male employee collected deceased Kee Kin Tiong's body by mistake from the embalmer in December 2019. 

The employee said he identified Kee's body via "facial recognition". 

Kee's body was placed in a closed coffin, which was taken to the Christian funeral of a 70-year-old man that morning and later cremated at Mandai Crematorium.

Following the incident, NEA began enforcing stricter rules for licensed funeral parlours.

These include locking embalming rooms at all times, with limited access to authorised staff, and using body identification tags bearing details such as the name and gender of the deceased.

 

 

https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/disrespectful-funeral-parlour-sin-ming-incurs-public-ire-placing-bodies-floor