A funeral parlour and its director have apologised on Monday, Jan. 6 for the distress caused by cremating the wrong body prematurely as a result of a mix-up, CNA reported.

The funeral parlour's license has since been suspended and its licensee has been charged.

A joint statement by Century Products funeral parlour and funeral director Harmony Funeral Care expressed their regret, CNA said.

The funeral parlour and its funeral director added that they took "full responsibility" for the mistake.

"We sincerely apologise to the family of the late Mr Kee Kin Tiong for the distress caused to them when we incorrectly collected his body and cremated him ahead of his funeral rites on Dec. 30, 2019," they said.

"We understand how important it is for family members to be able to send off their deceased loved ones in a manner that accords with their faith, and we deeply regret that the family of Mr Kee were unable to do so."

The mix-up took place on Dec. 30, 2019.

The snafu was reported by The Straits Times on Jan. 3.

This was apparently the first reported case of a wrong body being cremated here.

Suspension

The National Environment Agency (NEA) told CNA on Jan. 4 that the licence of Century Products funeral parlour has been suspended.

NEA said investigations showed proper records were not kept of bodies received or removed from its premises.

The breaches were also confirmed after Century Products' premises were inspected by NEA on Dec 31, 2019. 

The licensee of Century Products will be charged for the infringements under the Environmental Public Health (Funeral Parlours) Regulations.

An NEA spokesperson said: "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."

The actions of the funeral director of Harmony Funeral Care was also investigated.

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

"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. 

What happened

The family of the late Kee Kin Tiong, 82, said they were told by staff of Harmony Funeral Care funeral home that the deceased man's body had already been cremated when they were at their home's void deck to receive the body for the wake.

The family also said the deceased man was given a send-off done according to Christian traditions and funeral rites, when the man was a Taoist.

The other body belonged to a 70-year-old man.

It is not known what happened to it, and Harmony Funeral Care did not reveal details.

The two bodies had been lying in the same room after Century Products had performed the embalming.

According to Kee's son-in-law, the funeral home revealed the mix-up had been caused by a male staff.

The staff had collected Kee’s body by mistake from Century Products.