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promoted the sale of these graves. I would like the Council to clarify the following points:
(a) Please list out the number of blackspots, locations and number of illegal graves in the urban areas.
(b) If such graves are discovered, what actions will the Department take? How many cases have been handled and prosecuted so far?
(c) Will the Department actively investigate the blackspots of illegal graves?
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT, CHAIRMAN OF THE Public Health Select Committee, replied as follows (in Cantonese): This three-part question concerns illegal burial in the urban area. The first part enquires about the number of blackspots, locations and number of illegal graves.
Burial grounds for human remains have existed in Hong Kong long before the current legislation designating public and private cemeteries. The provisions of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation pertaining to the disposal of the dead, which were enacted in the 1960s, have provided for control on various traditional sites for burials, such as Diamond Hill, Cape Collinson and Aberdeen by designating these sites as public and private cemeteries where appropriate. Notwithstanding the enactment of the legislation, a number of graves and urns have remained, as a historical legacy, at various locations on unleased government land which has hitherto not been developed in any way. With the passage of time, however, much of the land in the urban area has been largely developed and many of these graves have been cleared to make way for development. As almost all of these remaining graves have existed long before the designation of cemeteries, the Department has little concrete information on the number of illegal graves and urns located outside the designated cemeteries.
The second part of the question asks how the Department will deal with illegal graves and the number of cases handled. Respect for the dead is a long-standing tradition in this community and it is the Department's policy to handle cases of illegal burial with sensitivity. Upon the discovery of an illegal grave, the Department will affix notices at the location, asking the next-of-kin to come forward to remove the grave. If necessary, notices to this effect will also be published in local newspapers. If nobody comes forward after 7 days, the Department may, subject to the consent of the Secretary for Home Affairs in respect of graves on unleased government land, remove the grave and rebury any human remains in Sandy Ridge Cemetery, New Territories. In the past two years, the Department had dealt with 13 cases of burial outside designated cemeteries, involving 8 graves and 43 urns. The Department is currently handling 4 cases involving 57 graves and 45 urns, essentially in the Tsz Wan Shan and Aberdeen areas.
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promoted the sale of these graves. I would like the Council to clarify the following points:
(a) Please list out the number of backstops, locations and number of illegal
graves in the urban areas.
(b) If such graves are discovered, what actions will the Department take?
How many cases have been handled and prosecuted so far?
(c) Will the Department actively investigate the blackspots of illegal graves?'
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT, CHAIRMAN OF THe Public Health SelecT COMMITTEE. replied as follows (in Cantonese): This three-part question concerns illegal burial in the urban area. The first part enquires about the number of blackspots, locations and number of illegal graves.
Burial grounds for human remains have existed in Hong Kong long before the current legislation designating public and private cemeteries. The provisions of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation pertaining to the disposal of the dead, which were enacted in the 1960s, have provided for control on various traditional sites for burials, such as Diamond Hill, Cape Collinson and Aberdeen by designating these sites as public and private cemeteries where appropriate. Notwithstanding the enactment of the legislation, a number of graves and urns have remained, as a historical legacy, at various locations on unleased government land which has hitherto not been developed in any way. With the passage of time, however, much of the land in the urban area has been largely developed and many of these graves have been cleared to make way for development. As almost all of these remaining graves have existed long before the designation of cemeteries, the Department has little concrete information on the number of illegal graves and urns located outside the designated cemeteries.
The second part of the question asks how the Department will deal with illegal graves and the number of cases handled. Respect for the dead is a long standing tradition in this community and it is Department's policy to handle cases of illegal burial with sensitivity. Upon the discovery of an illegal grave, the Department will affix notices at the location, asking the next-of-kin to come forward to remove the grave. If necessary, notices to this effect will also be published in local newspapers. If nobody comes forward after 7 days, the Department may, subject to the consent of the Secretary for Home Affairs in respect of graves on unleased government land, remove the grave and rebury any human remains in Sandy Ridge Cemetery, New Territories. In the past two years, the Department had dealt with 13 cases of burial outside designated cemeteries, involving 8 graves and 43 urns. The Department is currently handling 4 cases involving 57 graves and 45 urns, essentially in the Tsz Wan Shan and Aberdeen areas.
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