To her shock, Ms Lim saw that the memorial plaque of her late father had a photo of someone she did not know.

This was on Saturday night, when she received a text message from the operator that had provided the service.

Although the mistake was corrected the next morning, she was upset with the attitude of the operator, who she said had brushed it off as a "small matter".

The incident was reported by Shin Min Daily News yesterday.

Ms Lim, 40, a housewife whose full name was not stated in the report, told Shin Min that the part she was most unhappy about was the attitude of the person in charge.

"Although he did apologise, he also kept saying that it was a small matter, and would have the photo replaced" today.

However, she asked for the change to be made as soon as possible. It was changed yesterday morning.

The operator, not named in the report, sent her a text message at around 9am to confirm the photo had been changed.

Her father's plaque is located at Choa Chu Kang Columbarium. He died last month.

Ms Lim believes that having the wrong photo was inauspicious and taboo. She said she had paid around $990 for the inscription service and photo.

She said: "Only my husband and I know about the matter. We did not inform other family members, especially my mother, as we were afraid this would upset her."

Asked by The Straits Times to comment on the incident, another undertaker, Mr Roland Tay from Direct Funeral Services, said he has not encountered such a case in his 40 years in the industry. "It is unfortunate for this to happen. It shouldn't happen because once the photograph is ready, the deceased's name and niche number would be written on its back so that it can be matched to the correct plaque," he said.

"I think the right thing to do is to make a replacement photo, and do some prayer according to the family's religion so that they can have peace of mind."