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Three brothers were aggrieved to find that their Qing Ming offerings at the Choa Chu Kang Columbarium were cleared before they finished paying respects to their late mother.

Peng Hongmao (all names in hanyu pinyin), 61, and his two older brothers, visited the columbarium on Apr. 15 afternoon.

He told Shin Min Daily News that this is the 13th year that they have been observing this tradition.

Offerings been cleared so as not to attract birds

The group set up cakes, fruits, tea, wine and other offerings on a small table after arriving at the columbarium.

Then, they went to burn paper offerings nearby.

When they returned less than 20 minutes later to continue paying their respects, they found that all the offerings, along with the table, had been cleared.

The offerings were apparently thrown into garbage bags.

Peng told Shin Min that he immediately questioned the cleaning staff who were present, but they told him they did not know what had happened.

Two columbarium staff apologised to the family, but were also unable to provide an explanation.

"Subsequently, a staff member called me to explain that the food had been cleared so it would not attract birds," Peng shared.

However, he seemed to be unconvinced by the explanation as he claimed it is rare to see birds in the columbarium.

"Disrespectful to the ancestors"

Peng said his family planned to offer tea and wine to his late mother after burning the paper offerings.

He added that they intended to bring some of the food home as per tradition.

"That is disrespectful to [my late mother]," Peng expressed to Shin Min.

He was so worked up about what happened that he grabbed a cleaner's arm and demanded that they apologised to his late mother.

The police was called.

Hopes management can rectify the situation

"This incident has saddened us greatly, and [I] couldn't sleep well that night," Peng shared.

He told Shin Min that he hopes that a satisfactory explanation will be given.

Since the Qing Ming period is over, Peng pointed out that the family cannot pay their respects again.

He suggested: "Perhaps the situation can be remedied if the columbarium's management arranges for Taoist priests to perform rites for my mother."

Peng opined that cleaning staff at the columbarium should have a good understanding of traditional Chinese customs and taboos.

NEA: Signs stated that unattended food will be cleared

The National Environment Agency (NEA) told Mothership that it is aware of an incident involving clearing of food offering items at Choa Chu Kang Columbarium on Apr. 15, 2023.

"The cleaner had cleared and disposed of the food offerings, as they were left unattended on the floor and were attracting birds," a spokesperson from NEA explained. "This was done in accordance with our protocols and there were signages in place stating that unattended food will be cleared."

They confirmed that a dispute occurred, and that NEA had called for police assistance.

The police are currently looking into the matter.

NEA stated:

"With more crowds expected during the Qing Ming period, NEA will continue to work closely with the cleaning contractor to keep our premises safe, clean and pest-free for all visitors.

We would like to remind all visitors to observe general safety and not leave their food offerings, lit candles and live fires unattended."

They emphasised that they will not condone any verbal or physical abuse of their officers, and will call the police if such incidents occur.

Top image via Google Street View