The staff went to the cemetery at night and kowtowed three times to retrieve it! Official response: The ashes of the elderly were mistaken by the funeral home

On August 20th, the body of an elderly person in Quanjiao County, Chuzhou, Anhui Province, was cremated at the county funeral home. Family members discovered that the ashes of the deceased were mixed up with those of other deceased individuals. On the 23rd, the reporter learned from the families of the deceased and local officials that the ashes involved have been clearly attributed and buried, and the relevant responsible persons are currently in the investigation and accountability stage.

According to reports from Jimu News on August 22nd, insiders revealed that on August 20th, the body of an elderly person in Quanjiao County, Anhui Province, who was nearly 80 years old, was cremated at the county funeral home. As a result, family members discovered that the ashes were mixed with those of other deceased individuals. The elderly person's body had already been released before his "ashes" were cremated. Another family member of the deceased told reporters that on the morning of the 20th, the ashes he received from the funeral home had just been buried, and he was told in the afternoon that the ashes were mistaken. That night, the funeral home staff came to the cemetery to retrieve the ashes.

On the morning of August 23rd, the reporter learned from the families of the deceased that the relevant local departments have clarified the ownership of the ashes of the two elderly people and have buried them. This matter has been properly resolved.

How will the funeral home staff be handled in the future? The reporter called the official website of the Chuzhou Civil Affairs Bureau to report issues in the field of funerals. The operator stated that they have paid attention to the relevant situation and the colleague in charge is currently handling the matter in Quanjiao and is not in the office. In the early morning of the 23rd, the leader in charge of the bureau also went to the scene to verify and understand the specific situation, but the investigation results are still unclear.

The staff of relevant departments in Quanjiao County replied to reporters that on the evening of August 21st, the matter had been understood by the family and properly handled. The ashes involved have been clearly attributed and have been taken back for burial by family members. The responsible persons are currently in the investigation and accountability stage.

Staff members from the Anhui Provincial Department of Civil Affairs told reporters that as a provincial-level industry regulatory department, they have taken note of this matter and assigned it through internal procedures, which have been dealt with locally. The family also expressed acceptance of the handling results. The staff member did not provide a clear response regarding whether the relevant departments will issue a situation report in the future.

Previously reported

Funeral Home Troubles:

The family claimed that the body had been unearthed before cremation of the ashes

On August 20th, a netizen revealed that the funeral home in Quanjiao County, Chuzhou City, Anhui Province had mistaken the ashes of an elderly person and stated that "the relatives you brought back may not be your relatives.".

On the 21st, an informant close to the family of the deceased, An Ran, told reporters that the deceased elderly man, Wu, was 79 years old this year and passed away a few days ago due to illness. On the morning of August 20th at around 6 o'clock, the Wu family held a farewell ceremony for the elderly at the Funeral Parlor in Quanjiao County, Chuzhou City, Anhui Province. After the body was cremated, the funeral home issued a cost invoice to the family. According to the procedure, after the cremation of the deceased's body, on-site staff will shout out the deceased's name, and family members can come forward to collect the ashes. But after waiting for nearly an hour, there were no staff on site calling for the Wu family to collect the ashes. "The other family members of the deceased arrived later, and they all received the ashes," An Ran said. The Wu family asked the on-site staff for information, and they realized that the name of the deceased on the expense bill they received earlier was not Wu, but Shen, a deceased from Machang Town in the county.

"At that time, the family members were all in grief, and when they received the documents, they did not look carefully. They just waited for the staff to call out the name of the deceased and go to collect the ashes. Unexpectedly, this happened," An Ran said, causing a verbal dispute between the Wu family and the funeral home staff. Subsequently, they reported to the police requesting access to surveillance footage. After investigation by the funeral home, it turned out that the funeral home staff had paid two separate fees for the deceased Shen, one to Wu's family and the other to Shen's family. Because the staff did not print out Wu's name, no one called Wu's name.

Wrong expense receipt received by family members

Because of this mistake, the Wu family no longer trusts the funeral home. They continued to check the surveillance footage of the funeral home, and the scene before them surprised them greatly.

An Ran introduced that the Wu family retrieved surveillance footage and found that the ashes prepared by the funeral home for the Wu family to collect had already been placed at the ashes collection area at 7:03 am. Wu's body was not cremated until 7:09 am and still needs some time to cool down. The surveillance video also showed that at around 7:17 am, the staff simultaneously took out two sets of ashes, one placed in the urn of a deceased person in Fuxing Township, Quanjiao County, and the other placed in the urn of a deceased person named Fang in Liuzhen Town, Quanjiao County. Both sets of ashes were buried on the same day. "Fang's body was cremated earlier than Wu's. Therefore, the one that was already laid out at 7:03 am may be Fang's."

Funeral home staff go to the cemetery at night to retrieve the suspected mistaken ashes

An Ran introduced that on the evening of the 20th, after consultation, the funeral home sent staff to Fang's cemetery to retrieve the ashes that had already been buried. The Wu family also went together and witnessed the entire process.

The reporter obtained a live video showing that it was already dark, and three men wearing white shirts arrived at a cemetery. They first kowtowed three heads in front of the tomb, then dismantled the newly built bricks, took out the urn from the tomb, and then rented a car on top of it.

An Ran told reporters that the three men who kowtowed to the cemetery in the video were the staff of the funeral home.

A relative of Mr. Fang also confirmed to the reporter that the old man in his family, who was 86 years old and died of illness, was cremated at the funeral home in Quanjiao County on the morning of the 20th, and then brought back to his hometown for burial. On the afternoon of the 20th, the family first received a call from the director of the funeral home, saying that there was a mistake in the urn. That evening, the funeral home staff came to the cemetery to knock open the tomb and take away the ashes.

"The passing of a loved one is already a very sad thing, and I never expected that the ashes would be mistaken." Fang's relatives said that the funeral home manager admitted to them that Fang's ashes and Wu's ashes were mistaken. After receiving a call from the funeral home, Fang's family also went to the funeral home to check the surveillance footage. However, due to blind spots, they cannot confirm whether the previously unclaimed ashes placed in the funeral home belong to their own elderly.

An Ran told reporters that the person in charge of the funeral home stated that the ashes retrieved from the cemetery in Liuzhen Town belonged to Mr. Wu. But Wu's relatives cannot agree. They believe that at around 7:17 am that day, the funeral home staff simultaneously took out two sets of ashes, one for the family of the deceased in Fuxing Township and the other for the family of Fang. At present, it cannot be determined that the ashes previously buried in Liuzhen Town belong to Mr. Wu.

The ashes cannot be compared with DNA, and the funeral home claims to provide investigation results

Enron stated that on the 20th, the relevant person in charge of the local civil affairs department had stated that the matter would be resolved properly that night. However, until late at night, the funeral home side did not come up with a specific solution and said they would continue to report to their superiors.

"The family members of the deceased have been handling the elderly's affairs for several days in a row, and they have been very tired. Now they have also encountered a mistake in the ashes, causing great physical and mental harm to everyone. On the evening of the 20th, some relatives fell ill and went to the hospital as a result." An Ran said that until the evening of the 21st, the matter is still being further negotiated and handled.

The above-mentioned insiders told Jimu News reporters that the Wu family has proposed to conduct DNA comparison on the currently suspected ashes to verify which one is Wu's ashes. Fang's relatives also stated that the funeral home should have a clear statement on the ownership of the ashes. In addition, for the losses caused by the funeral home's work errors, the family should receive corresponding compensation.

Can DNA identification still be performed on bodies that have been cremated? On the afternoon of the 21st, the reporter consulted multiple medical appraisal institutions in Wuhan, and they all stated that the body has been carbonized and DNA comparison cannot be performed.

On the afternoon of the 21st, in response to reports from family members that the ashes were mistaken, the reporter sought confirmation from the funeral home in Quanjiao County. The staff in charge of the connection stated that their leaders were negotiating with the families of the deceased to handle this matter, and the final investigation results will be issued to the families at that time.