Coffin falls during funeral procession at Jalan Batu; family seeks apology from casket company

SINGAPORE: A casket fell during a funeral procession near Jalan Batu, Mountbatten, on Wednesday (March 27).

A video of the incident shared over social media shows the coffin falling over from the front side while being borne aloft by pallbearers holding poles, much to the consternation of the people attending the procession.

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Alliance Casket and Funerals told 8world that a pole used to carry the casket broke, causing the mishap. During the procession, friends and family of the deceased are said to have carried the casket, not workers from the company.

The spokesman underlined that no one wanted the accident to occur and told 8world that Alliance Casket and Funerals had not yet spoken to the family of the deceased.

Although earlier reports said that the family “understood” that it had been an accident and that they did not blame the company, a later report said that the family had reached out to 8world to say that they did not agree with the spokesperson’s statement and that the company should have ensured that the poles they provide could bear the weight of a casket.

The family also said they did not raise the issue on the funeral day because they wanted the ceremony to proceed as planned.

Furthermore, the 8world report says that the company’s statement that it had not been its employees who had carried the casket implied that the mishap had been the fault of the friends and family members.

With the video of the incident going public, the family added that it is looking forward to a public apology from the company. The casket is said to have weighed over 100 kilos. No one appears to have been injured during the mishap.

An individual working in the industry told 8world that it’s possible that the “poor quality” of the wood used on the poles caused one to break and the accident.

He added that the company could give the family an auspicious ang bao as consolation after the incident.

He also said that this is the first time he has heard of a casket falling due to a broken wooden pole during a funeral procession in Singapore. /TISG

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