**********************************************************
The Department of Health announced today (March 8) that an independent committee had been set up to investigate an incident in which the dead body of a 90-year-old man at Fu Shan Public Mortuary was claimed and cremated by another family.
The three-member Committee comprises the convenor, Mr Wan Chi-keung, Ms Nora Yau and Ms Jasminia Cheung. They are senior administrators in private or non-government organisations.
Apart from inquiring into this incident, the Committee will also conduct a review of the work procedures and practices for identifying and claiming dead bodies in public mortuaries in Hong Kong, and will make recommendations to the Director of Health with a view to preventing a recurrence.
A department spokesman said immediate action had been taken to avoid any similar incident.
He said all staff of public mortuaries had been briefed again on the working procedures and reminded to exercise due care in checking the identity of every dead body before handing over the bodies to the families concerned.
"With immediate effect, mortuary staff are required to double check the identities of dead bodies before identification by family members of the deceased.
"The relatives will be asked to view the bodies and check the particulars on the identification bracelets of the bodies for identification purposes before collecting the bodies," he said.
The spokesman said in order to improve the management of public mortuaries, the department had implemented a number of measures since 2005, including the revision of the Mortuary Work manual and recording the movement of bodies in and out of cold rooms.
The spokesman added that in order to enhance the efficiency of the daily operation of public mortuaries, the record system including receipt and dispatch of dead bodies in public mortuaries would be computerised by phases.
"The Kwai Chung Public Mortuary's computer system is in operation and the Fu Shan Public Mortuary's system will be ready in 2006/07," he said.
Ends/Wednesday, March 8, 2006
Issued at HKT 17:20
NNNN
