FAMILY LEAVES BODY AT MORGUE FOR 2 YEARS …Relatives lied about man being cremated

n Relatives lied about man being cremated

The body of a senior citizen was abandoned in a morgue for nearly two years by his relatives who reportedly told members of his community that the corpse had been cremated.

Having died on October 4, 2014 after a long battle with illness, the man was only buried on May 28.

Residents of the west rural St Andrew community, from which the retired man hailed, were waiting for an opportunity to bid farewell to the deceased community man. However, when they made checks with members of the man's family about a date for his funeral service, they were told that the body had been cremated.

"The original family members get the money from foreign and eat it off. Concerned citizens and friends say he was a good man and decided to give him an official burial," a representative of the funeral home told THE STAR.

"Them get money bout three times, eat it out, and tell the community say the body was cremated."

document

He told THE STAR that when the relatives couldn't produce any document to show that the body of the 79-year-old was burnt to ash, some members of the community turned up at his establishment.

"People came to us and we said, 'no, the body is here.' We even ask if they wanted to see the body and show them. They came together and put up the money for the funeral," the funeral director said.

A family member, who THE STAR contacted, was not willing to speak on the matter.

But tongues have been wagging in the community over the manner in which the old man's remains were abandoned by the family.

"About nine people attended the funeral, half of that amount were scouts. Mi sorry THE STAR never deh deh fi take pictures. It was so embarrassing," one resident said.

"Can you imagine that's how dem deal wid them family member after he did so much for them when he was alive?," another community member said, adding that the man's relatives were too embarrassed to attend the funeral.