Lim Chu Kang Cemetery Tombstone Burnt & Littered With Joss Paper
The Qing Ming Festival is coming up in April, and many Chinese Singaporeans will pay respects at their ancestors’ graves.
Qing Ming Visits Limited To 8 Per Group, S’poreans Advised To Avoid Peak Days: NEA
However, when the burning of joss papers is not done within dedicated containers, it can create an unsightly mess for others.
Last Saturday (20 Mar), when a 74-year-old Singaporean uncle saw his mother’s tombstone charred and littered with paper ashes, he felt heartbroken.
Unsightly mess from burning papers causes burnt tombstone
74-year-old Chen De Cheng – name directly translated from Chinese – was shocked to see the state of his mother’s resting place.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Mr Chen and his wife visited his mother’s grave at Lim Chu Kang Cemetery last Saturday morning (20 Mar).
However, they were shocked to find out that his mother’s tombstone looked burnt and charred.
Speaking to the Chinese daily, Mr Chen described ashes piled up next to his mother’s grave, and the drain was full of litter too.
The unsightly mess also included joss papers and sticks.
Request to put up reminder allegedly declined
There is a container beside every grave at the cemetery, especially for joss paper burning.
However, Mr Chen believes that it might be too small for some, who then took the container to the aisle beside his mother’s grave for the traditional rituals.
Apparently, Mr Chen had requested the cemetery’s management to put up a reminder for visitors to be considerate for others.
They ought to keep away from neighbouring tombstones to burn joss papers, he argued.
However, his request was allegedly turned down.
Do be considerate to others
Understandably, finding one’s loved one’s resting place in such chaos is devastating.
While visitors pay respects to their own ancestors, we hope that subsequent Qing Ming visits can be more considerate for others as well.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News and Google Maps.
