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The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (January 21) gave an update on the progress of the removal of illegal graves on the slope north of Diamond Hill Urn Cemetery.
A spokesman for the FEHD said that upon obtaining consent of the Secretary for Home Affairs, the FEHD, in collaboration with the Lands Department, has started to remove the human remains or urns or other containers containing human remains in the illegal graves at the location mentioned above in phases since July 8 last year.
As at January 15, the FEHD, together with the Lands Department, had removed 210 illegal graves and delivered the human remains and cremains in urns or containers inside the illegal graves to Sandy Ridge Cemetery for burial or deposition. If the human remains are not claimed after six years, they will be cremated with the ashes deposited in the communal graves at Sandy Ridge Cemetery.
"As at January 15, a total of 168 illegal graves are still pending removal. The clearance operation will continue until all the illegal graves are removed," the spokesman said.
The spokesman reminded owners of remaining illegal graves to apply for an exhumation permit and to remove the human remains on their own immediately. After exhumation, they may consider applying for burial of the remains in an urn grave at Wo Hop Shek Urn Cemetery. Should they choose to cremate the remains, they may consider scattering the cremains at designated Hong Kong waters or gardens of remembrance, or apply for allocation of new or re-used public niches.
Application for the third phase allocation of new public niches at Wo Hop Shek Kiu Tau Road Columbarium and Diamond Hill Columbarium will start in mid-2014 tentatively.
Enquiries on procedures for reclaiming removed human remains and/or cremains can be made on 2365 5321.
Ends/Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:02
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