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Hong Kong crematorium leaves its clients fuming

When the Grim Reaper calls, undertakers are having a bit of a problem making the coffins fit the ovens at Hong Kong's newest crematorium.

They have to cut some of them down to size because the incinerators at the government-built facility are too small for big, traditional Chinese coffins, funeral companies say.

In another case, a coffin fell through the frames that separate one incineration chamber from another, thus mixing together the remains of two people at the Kwai Chung Crematorium -- which opened in March at a cost of HK$137.6 million (US$17.6 million).

The distressed families are now trying to separate the ashes and obtain damages, while funeral executives are fuming over the size of the incinerators.

"After they spent all this money, we don't have what we need," said Ng Yiu-tong, an official with the Funeral Business Association. "If the industry had been consulted, this wouldn't have happened."

One coffin wholesaler, who identified himself only by the surname Yip, was somewhat kinder although clearly unhappy with the facilities at Kwai Chung.

"The government meant well, but it just wasn't very sensitive to the dimensions of Chinese and Western coffins," Yip said.

Traditional Chinese coffins -- made from logs and fashioned to retain their natural shape -- are sometimes too tall for the Kwai Chung incinerators, so workers have to shave off part of the wood to make them fit.

And the Chinese coffins -- as well as Western-style ones made from prefabricated boards -- are a bit narrow for the frames separating different levels in one of the incinerators.

Hong Kong officials say it's not clear why one coffin fell while it was burning, mixing together the remains of two people.

Crematorium workers are now resorting to using wooden planks to prop up the burning coffins in the correct chamber.

The survivors have hired experts to try to separate the ashes and they are seeking damages, according to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, which regulates funerals and cremations in Hong Kong.
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