Cremation switch stokes son's anger

By Hu Yongqi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-16 08:07

A worker at a crematorium is feeling the heat after allegedly handing a grieving son the wrong ashes in order to make a dinner appointment.

The son, Li San, had sent his father's body to the Funeral Parlor of Qinghe district in Tieling, Liaoning province.

When cremator Ning Lin handed over the cremation box on Monday morning, Li found the contents were cold, unlike ashes that had just been cremated.

Li then realized they were not his father's ashes as his father's chest and belly were still outside the incinerator.

He beat the cremator with other villagers the next day and Ning admitted he was told to do that.

But officials said the crematorium had only one body to cremate and Ning gave the wrong ashes to the family in a hurry when a relative asked him for dinner.

The scandal has flamed villagers' fears that more urns with their loved ones' remains contain the wrong ashes.

A villager surnamed Liu, whose relative's body was cremated in the crematorium, is now afraid he did not get the real ashes. Liu said the government is expected to investigate the case and stop similar cases from occurring.

"They can't cover up the accident. Many villagers are concerned about it," he said.

Netizens said the cremators may have been switching ashes for more than two years, making about 2,800 villagers nervous that the ashes in their relatives' urns are not genuine.

Officials said the incident was a one-time accident. The crematorium has apologized to the family and officials are discussing compensation.

"Ning has been detained in the Tieling Detention Center," Director Su of the district's publicity department told China Daily yesterday.

An official surnamed Zhang at the district's civil affairs bureau said the cremator is young and did not get the necessary training, which led to the mistake.

A professional in funeral management in Foshan was quoted by Southern Metropolis Daily as saying that there is no national standard on how to punish crematorium staff who make mistakes. A new law on funerals and burials is under discussion and is expected to better regulate the industry.