M'sian single mum, 32, suffers miscarriage in S'pore, funeral parlour arranges pro bono sea burial

A Malaysian woman working in Singapore suffered a miscarriage at the six-month mark of her pregnancy and was at a loss as to how to give her foetus a proper send-off.

The woman, identified as 32-year-old "Mary", spoke limited English and was unfamiliar with Singapore's funeral proceedings, according to Shin Min Daily News.

The single mother, who worked as a clerk at a local mini supermarket, was facing financial difficulties as she earned less than S$1,500 a month.

But she was eventually able to carry out a sea burial for her unborn child as local funeral parlour, Funeral Guru, offered its services pro bono.

A proper send-off

According to the company's director Karen Ong, Mary miscarried on Aug. 27.

The woman then contacted numerous funeral companies, but failed to receive a response, until she was referred to Funeral Guru.

When Ong first met Mary, she recalled sensing that the grieving mother was feeling very down, she told Shin Min.

"She was very scared when we were processing the paperwork to claim the body," said Ong.

"She was even hesitant to go into the morgue office. We accompanied her through the process, she was very quiet throughout and hardly spoke to any of the staff."

Funeral Guru recounted in a Sep. 4 Facebook post the process of picking up the body at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH): "Our hearts sank when we received the body of this little angel this morning at SGH Mortuary."

Bag of baby items

On the day of the send-off, Mary prepared a bag containing baby items that she hoped to send off with her child, Shin Min reported.

The funeral team also prepared a small white casket, as well as purchased additional clothes, toys and a pacifier, who was dress as a prince before being brought to the crematorium.

"We wanted to give him the dignity and care he deserved, right until his final journey," the funeral parlour's post added.

Due to the small size of the casket, it had to be manually pushed into the cremation chamber.

"It was a heartbreaking moment for everyone involved," the post added. "A heartfelt thank you to our silent sponsors and supporters who made this possible."

Final rites involved three religions

The final rites were led by religious leaders of three different faiths.

The nearly 20-minute sea burial took place near Changi Ferry Terminal.

It was led by a Taoist scripture recitation, followed by a Christian prayer, and a Buddhist scripture reading.

Ong personally scattered the baby's ashes into the sea and offered her own prayers.

Offering pro bono burial services

In a separate Facebook post, Funeral Guru added that it remains committed to providing pro bono funeral assistance to families and individuals who are in need:

"At Funeral Guru, we believe that every life deserves dignity, regardless of race, religion or background. Everyone deserves a meaningful and dignified final farewell.

Every life matters. And the ability to say goodbye with dignity should not depend on one’s financial circumstances."

In a previous interview with Mothership, Ong, a former SCDF paramedic, said the pro bono outreach started in January 2026.

The company helps with the costs of caskets, cremation, a hearse, ash collection, and sea burials.

They have partnerships with other funeral service providers, which helps them lower the usual cost for a direct cremation, which would typically cost around S$1,688.