Singapore Funeral Director
The question of how a Singapore funeral director can be charged with corpse abuse has been hanging around since the past few years. In March 2021, the body of 31-year old Chinese worker Ngoc Son was found disfigured at the home of his employer, Sun Spa International. Ngoc had been working for the company for only three months. According to the official police report, the deceased suffered blunt injuries to the head and neck when he collapsed at work on the afternoon of March 13. His death was attributed to “mechanical injuries” and death caused by suffocating from heavy workloads at the factory.
Days later, the Straits Times reported that another member of the factory team, 25-year old Lim Siow Jin, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of torture. He is believed to have died from blunt head injuries sustained in a power cable accident that took place some days after the fatal accident. Another member of the factory team, 30-year old surnamed Man, was charged with multiple counts of murder and one count of obstruction of justice after he reportedly told police that the deceased fell from the lift and hit his head on a metal rod. Both of them are on trial.
After reviewing the police report, the director of Singapore’s Consumer and Food Safety Inspection Department (CFSID) said that there are grounds for the charges against the employees. He added that the agency will conduct its own investigation and present all findings to the Ministry of Labor. The Ministry of Labor will then decide whether or not to investigate and whether to take further action against the employees. If the findings justify further charges, the director will make a recommendation to the Cabinet.
Autopsy Result Shows Murder Caused by Body Injection
Since the charges against the deceased were based on the supposed suicide attempts, it is likely that they will be tried for unnatural deaths based on the results of autopsies and death certificates. If convicted, death certificate charges could mean a penalty of up to two years in prison. Autopsies and death records are usually not allowed in court due to the sensitivity of these issues. Therefore, it is very unlikely that the directors will be able to get convictions through this method.
Since the charges were brought against the Funerals Direct by the husband of the deceased, the directors might have to fight hard to prove their innocence. The prosecution has thirty days to do its investigation and produce its findings. If the CFSID finds that the charges are justified, it can go forward with the case but if it does not, the director will have to request the court to dismiss the case.
If the charges are sustained, the accused will be automatically removed from the duties of the post and the case will be heard by the courts. In Singapore, all death certificates have to be certified by the Singapore Ministry of Health. This is done according to the standards set by international standards. According to the law, anyone who violates the death records act is subject to criminal prosecution. The accused will still have to face court for the trial.
