Page 158 of 166.
302
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Firstly, there has been certainly an increase in popularity in opting for cremation by the general public (around 70% of the dead are for cremation). Hence, there has been an increased demand for our facilities.
Secondly, during the months of November to February, a number of our major crematoria were undergone repair round about the same time, the total number of cremation cases we handled dropped sharply during that period of time.
Thirdly, there was a seasonal increase in mortality figure during the winter months which put an extra strain on our services. All these could have been coped with by increasing the number of cremation cases each day per existing cremator. But the main crux of the issue was the 7-day rule which stipulates that no booking for cremation can be made for more than 7 days. As a result, relatives of the deceased have to attend to the office repeatedly in order to secure a booking, because of full booking for the next 7 days already, and they cannot book an appointment beyond the 7th day.
As described in the question, the general public has genuine concern and difficulty to make a cremation booking under the 7-day rule, and is therefore, subject to malpractices and imposed pay service in order to secure a cremation appointment. I have full sympathy to the relatives of the deceased, not only for the passing away of their loved ones, but also for the delay and inconveniences caused by our out-dated regulation section 112(2), Cap. 132, which provides that it is an offence to keep dead bodies for more than 7 days without the written permission from the Authority. I am of the opinion that this outdated rule should be repealed in order to avoid inconveniences to the public. Medically speaking, with present day modern technology and deep freezing techniques and the use of preservatives, dead bodies can be safely kept for any length of time.
If we repeal this 7-day rule, the public can be given an appointment for cremation on their first visit, without the intervention of third party and without having to pay extra money for queuing up services.
It has been the policy of our Council to encourage the public to use cremation rather than burial for the disposal of the dead. It is, therefore, an irony that the public should be obstructed by an antiquated law introduced by us many years ago.
In view of the above, I will therefore have the following advice to give to our department to improve the situation:
1. The seven day rule should be relaxed as of now, so that booking can be made on any free time that is available on the register.
2. Booking for cremation can only be made by bona fide person, such as relatives or authorized licensed undertakers in possession of all the legal documents, such as the death certificate, the doctor's cremation certificate, and written authorized documents from the relatives.
3. To cope with any unexpected increase in demand for cremation, the Department should be more flexible in increasing the number of cremation sessions in the existing crematoria.
4. A well planned schedule should be mapped out as an annual exercise for the repair and maintenance of all crematoria, so that they will not fall at the same time.
5. As a medium term measure, we should increase the number of cremators in our existing crematoria, and this should be given higher priority in our capital works programmes.
6. Looking forward longer term, we should build more crematoria to cope with the increasing demand for cremation.
Finally, I must thank and congratulate my fellow Councillor, Mr. Daniel WONG for bringing this problem to full light, and to express the grievances of the public at large.
MR. DANIEL K. T. WONG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the answer given by Dr. LEUNG. The reason why I raise this question was because recently I received numerous complaints that dead body could only be cremated ten days after the death of that particular person. In particular, the family members had to queue up for several days in order to make a booking. The situation is quite serious. As Dr. LEUNG actually pointed out that we can only cremate 42 dead bodies per day so I just wonder what kind of measure can the Department take in order to increase the efficiency of the crematoria such as by letting the workers work overtime so more bodies can be cremated to solve the immediate need of this kind of situation?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):--Mr. Chairman, as I pointed out, immediate measures have been introduced by the Department to increase the number of dead bodies to be cremated. Although it is scheduled at 42, actually the staff are working overtime to handle with the workload. The seasonal increase in mortality was only during the beginning of the year, I think the situation has been improved a little bit because the change of weather. It is our usual observation that there is usually an increase in mortality during the winter time. As we go to summer then the situation will be gradually improved but surely the Department is making their staff to work overtime to increase the number to be cremated and also the 7-day rule is also causing a great deal of obstacle and obstruction and causes delay to the public. I have to fully admit and I have full sympathy. That is why I am going to push the case very strongly to the Department to have this section repealed.
MR. DANIEL K. T. WONG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, my second concern to this situation is the pay service. As I understand that the licensed undertakers charge the family member of the deceased person approximately $1,000, just for queuing up to make a booking. I wonder whether we can have any control on this kind of malpractice. In particular who is the one to give a licence to those licensed undertakers. If they actually make such kind of excessive charge, will the licence be withdrawn or suspended in order to have a deterrent effect to those people?
303
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 159 of 166.
Page 158 of 166.
302
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Firstly, there has been certainly an increase in popularity in opting for cremation by the general public (around 70% of the dead are for cremation). Hence, there has been an increased demand for our facilities.
Secondly, during the months of November to February, a number of our major crematoria were undergone repair round about the same time, the total number of cremation cases we handled dropped sharply during that period of time.
Thirdly, there was a seasonal increase in mortality figure during the winter months which put an extra strain on our services. All these could have been coped with by increasing the number of cremation cases each day per existing cremator. But the main crux of the issue was the 7-day rule which stipulates that no booking for cremation can be made for more than 7 days. As a result, relatives of the deceased have to attend to the office repeatedly in order to secure a booking, because of full booking for the next 7 days already, and they cannot book an appointment beyond the 7th day.
As described in the question, the general public has genuine concern and difficulty to make a cremation booking under the 7-day rule, and is therefore, subject to malpractices and imposed pay service in order to secure a cremation appointment. I have full sympathy to the relatives of the deceased, not only for the passing away of their loved ones, but also for the delay and inconveniences caused by our out-dated regulation section 112(2), Cap. 132, which provides that it is an offence to keep dead bodies for more than 7 days without the written permission from the Authority. I am of the opinion that this outdated rule should be repealed in order to avoid inconveniences to the public. Medically speaking, with present day modern technology and deep freezing techniques and the use of preservatives, dead bodies can be safely kept for any length of time.
If we repeal this 7-day rule, the public can be given an appointment for cremation on their first visit, without the intervention of third party and without having to pay extra money for queuing up services.
It has been the policy of our Council to encourage the public to use cremation rather than burial for the disposal of the dead. It is, therefore, an irony that the public should be obstructed by an antiquated law introduced by us many years ago.
In view of the above, I will therefore have the following advice to give to our department to improve the situation:
1. The seven day rule should be relaxed as of now, so that booking can be
made on any free time that is available on the register.
2.
Booking for cremation can only be made by bona fide person, such as relatives or authorized licensed undertakers in possession of all the legal documents, such as the death certificate, the doctor's cremation certificate, and written authorized documents from the relatives.
3.
4.
5.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
303
To cope with any unexpected increase in demand for cremation, the Department should be more flexible in increasing the number of cremation sessions in the existing crematoria.
A well planned schedule should be mapped out as an annual exercise for the repair and maintenance of all crematoria, so that they will not fall at the same time.
As a medium term measure, we should increase the number of cremators in our existing crematoria, and this should be given higher priority in our capital works programmes.
6. Looking forward longer term, we should build more crematoria to cope
with the increasing demand for cremation.
Finally, I must thank and congratulate my fellow Councillor, Mr. Daniel WONG for bringing this problem to full light, and to express the grievances of the public at large.
MR. DANIEL K. T. WONG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the answer given by Dr. LEUNG. The reason why I raise this question was because recently I received numerous complaints that dead body could only be cremated ten days after the death of that particular person. In particular, the family members had to queue up for several days in order to make a booking. The situation is quite serious. As Dr. LEUNG actually pointed out that we can only cremate 42 dead bodies per day so I just wonder what kind of measure can the Department take in order to increase the efficiency of the crematoria such as by letting the workers work overtime so more bodies can be cremated to solve the immediate need of this kind of situation?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):--Mr. Chairman, as I pointed out, immediate measures have been introduced by the Department to increase the number of dead bodies to be cremated. Although it is scheduled at 42, actually the staff are working overtime to handle with the workload. The seasonal increase in mortality was only during the beginning of the year, I think the situation has been improved a little bit because the change of weather. It is our usual observation that there is usually an increase in mortality during the winter time. As we go to summer then the situation will be gradually improved but surely the Department is making their staff to work overtime to increase the number to be cremated and also the 7-day rule is also causing a great deal of obstacle and obstruction and causes delay to the public. I have to fully admit and I have full sympathy. That is why I am going to push the case very strongly to the Department to have this section repealed.
MR. DANIEL K. T. WONG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, my second concern to this situation is the pay service. As I understand that the licensed undertakers charge the family member of the deceased person approximately $1,000, just for queuing up to make a booking. I wonder whether we can have any control on this kind of malpractice. In particular who is the one to give a licence to those licensed undertakers. If they actually make such kind of excessive charge, will the licence be withdrawn or suspended in order to have a deterrent effect to those people?
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