Corruption probe over treatment of bodies at HK mortuaries
HONG KONG - HONG Kong's anti-corruption watchdog on Tuesday said it had uncovered a string of scams linked to the treatment of dead bodies, including hospital mortuary staff being bribed to recommend funeral homes.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement it had arrested 14 funeral agents and hospital mortuary workers on suspicion of corruption.
'Inquiries revealed that the arrested mortuary staff had allegedly accepted monthly bribe payments from a number of funeral agents as reward for giving preferential treatment to the latter,' the statement said.
In order to speed up funeral arrangements, the mortuary staff had allowed the funeral agents to collect bodies outside the operating hours of the mortuary, and dressed up the bodies on behalf of the latter, the ICAC said.
'One of the arrested mortuary staff was alleged to have received illegal rebates from a funeral agent for referring to the latter family members of the deceased for funeral services,' the statement added.
The ICAC arrested the group after an investigation into corruption codenamed 'Gypsy' following complaints about conduct.
The suspects have been released on bail.
The corruption probe comes soon after the body of a baby boy went missing from a Hong Kong hospital, prompting a desperate search for the corpse, including a grim trawl through clinical waste at a city landfill.
