New guidelines on transporting the dead

NEA steps aimed at ensuring high standard of public health, dignity accorded to dead person

Operators of funeral parlours are now expected to adhere to more stringent measures for transporting the dead, following a mix-up in January that resulted in a wrong body being cremated.

In new guidelines released yesterday, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Association of Funeral Directors Singapore said vehicles used to transfer the dead must be cleaned and maintained appropriately, and operators must ensure the coffin is securely fastened before the vehicle moves off. The vehicle should also be enclosed to preserve the dignity of the dead person.

The NEA said the new guidelines are to ensure that hearse operators and funerary personnel "meet high public health standards, accord dignity to the deceased and serve the needs of the bereaved families well".

The new guidelines follow those that the NEA and the association issued in June for the handling of the dead in funeral parlours.

Among other things, the funeral parlour guidelines require operators to have a proper system to identify a dead person. Funeral parlours are also to ensure that the number of bodies in the embalming room is reasonable, with hygiene precautions taken to minimise the risk of disease transmission.

In January, the NEA barred Harmony Funeral Care from using government after-death facilities after it was found to have insufficient measures in place to ensure the proper handling of bodies.

The company was implicated in a mix-up that resulted in the first reported case of a wrong body being cremated in Singapore.

The send-off of an 82-year-old man was done according to Christian traditions and funeral rites, when he was a Taoist. The other body belonged to a 70-year-old man.

The bodies of both men had been lying in the same room at Century Products, a funeral parlour with embalming facilities. The mix-up occurred when a Harmony employee mistakenly collected the 82-year-old man's body, instead of that of the 70-year-old man.

Century Products, which had not kept proper records of the bodies received or removed from the premises, is facing a criminal probe.

In its statement yesterday, the NEA said also that from next January, contractors intending to provide services at their cremation, burial and columbarium facilities must register with it first. These services include exhumation, erection of tombstone and niche plaque-related work.

The NEA said this is to enhance the transparency of the industry and ensure the accountability of contractors. Registration is free and contractors will need to register every three years.

The NEA said it has informed contractors of these requirements so as to give them sufficient time to register before the new rule kicks in.

It added that appropriate action will be taken against registered contractors and their employees if they are found to have engaged in unauthorised activities. They could be issued written warnings and have their registration withdrawn, depending on the seriousness of the breaches.

More information on the new guidelines can be found on the NEA's website.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 20, 2020, with the headline New guidelines on transporting the dead. Subscribe