The family of a Taoist man has sued several funeral service providers for over S$225,000 in damages after a funeral home had mixed-up his body and cremated him with Christian rites instead.
The family of Kee Kin Tiong alleged that the wrongful treatment of their deceased loved one had caused them mental distress and trauma.
They also claimed that the funeral services were unsympathetic to them over the situation.
Mr Kee, 82, died on 29 Dec 2019, according to Channel NewsAsia (CNA).
His family hired Tan Khiam Soon Undertaker to collect the body the next day for embalming and deliver it for the funeral. The family could then perform the appropriate Taoist rites.
The funeral service delivered the deceased’s body to an embalming studio operated by Century Products Company, which performed the embalming.
At the same time, a separate funeral service, Harmony Funeral Care, sent an employee to collect the body of a 70-year-old named Mr Chia.
The employee, Mr Nicholas Ang Kai, mistakenly retrieved Mr Kee’s body instead. The deceased was cremated according to Christian funeral rites at Mandai Crematorium.
A Christian funeral. Source: Harmony Funeral Care, for illustration purposes only.
Mr Ang’s lawyers stated that he was still new and Harmony Funeral Care had not given him formal training, causing the unfortunate mistake.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) suspended both Harmony Funeral Care and Century Products Company following the error. Their suspensions were lifted in Feb 2020 after suitable measures were taken, according to The Straits Times (ST).
The funeral services’ mix-up understandably distressed Mr Kee’s family.
According to Taoist beliefs, loved ones should mourn the deceased for three days prior to cremation. Without performing the correct procedures, his soul would remain in his body instead of proceeding to the afterlife smoothly.
A Taoist funeral. Source: Harmony Funeral Care, for illustration purposes only.
The Kee family thus filed a lawsuit against the four parties they deemed responsible today (Aug 21 2023).
Their lawyers said that Tan Khiam Soon Undertaker had breached their contract, Century Products Company and Mr Ang were both negligent, and Harmony Funeral Care had “vicarious liability” for Mr Ang’s negligence.
They added that these mistakes had caused Mr Kee’s family to be unable to say their goodbyes or perform the funeral. The family alleged that they had suffered mental distress, trauma, and persistent complex bereavement disorder.
The family members described life as a “living hell” in the years since the wrongful cremation. They demanded S$225,000 in general damages and other sums such as $14,000 for grief therapy in their civil suit.
Source: Gadiel Lazcano on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
Furthermore, Mr Kee’s grandaughter, Ms Adeline Kee, alleged that the defendants were unapologetic to the family.
The defendants’ lawyers asked if she remembered that the funeral services had offered ritual providers to them.
Ms Kee did not remember such offers or replied that other family members handled those. She did, however, add that she recalled the lack of sympathy from one of the funeral services.
One of them had allegedly accused the family of “making so many phone calls”, according to CNA.
The trial has not reached a conclusion yet and will continue at a later date.
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Featured image adapted from Harmony Funeral Care and Harmony Funeral Care.
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