Our Work & Reports

The complainant had temporarily stored the cremains of a family member at a crematorium managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”).  Upon retrieval, he noticed that the wire lock on the cloth bag containing the cremains had been damaged and removed, prompting him to enquire with FEHD.  FEHD explained that as a measure to maintain security and integrity of the cremains, its staff routinely open the cremains bags, inspect the transparent plastic bags containing the cremains, and take photos for record.

The complainant was frustrated that FEHD had failed to explain the relevant procedures in advance and had opened the cremains bag without his consent.  He was also concerned that his family member’s cremains could be mistakenly mixed with others, as the transparent plastic bag lacked any identifying marks.  Feeling that FEHD’s approach disregarded the family’s emotions, he lodged a complaint with the Office.

After reviewing the case, the Office proposed facilitating mediation between the two parties.  FEHD acknowledged its procedural shortcomings and issued a written apology to the complainant.  It also reviewed the relevant procedures and introduced the following measures to address public concerns and prevent misunderstandings:

• updating the service notes in the application form to specify that FEHD will open the cremains bags, take out the transparent plastic bags containing the cremains for inspection and take photos for record;
• instructing staff to proactively explain the above procedures to families before accepting cremains for temporary storage.

**Adapted from a real case