The reporter consulted the Beijing Zhongzheng Judicial Appraisal Institute, the criminal investigation department of the public security organ and the funeral industry insiders on this matter, and the other party said that when the body is cremated, the high temperature will destroy the DNA (chemical with genetic information) in the human body, so it is generally impossible to identify the identity of the ashes, and relatives can only judge by the appearance of the urn or the personal items placed in the box.
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Beijing News reporter Peng Chong, Zhang Jingshu, editor, Liu Qian, proofreader, Lu Qian.
The father's ashes were lost by the funeral home" tracking: the relevant departments will investigate and negotiate compensation. Beijing News, we ** produce.
According to ** report, ten years ago, Ms. Fan from Zhengzhou, Henan Province, deposited her father's ashes at the Xinmi City Funeral Home, and recently found that the ashes were suspected to be lost when she went to pick them up. The Beijing News reporter consulted industry experts and lawyers and learned that for the storage of ashes, most funeral homes and cemeteries in China will use manual scripts or simple electronic systems for registration, and occasionally there will be errors caused by human error. Once the ashes are lost or mixed, it is difficult to identify them, and the depository institution shall be liable for compensation.
Ms. Fan said her father's ashes were lost by the funeral home. Source: Screenshot of the program "City Received Office".
Once lost or confused, it is difficult to identify the ashes.
According to the program "Urban Reception", ten years ago, after Ms. Fan's father died, she deposited her father's ashes at the Xinmi City Funeral Home. Recently, when I went to the funeral home to pick up the ashes, I found that "the cabinet where the ashes were stored was empty and I couldn't find it." The funeral home explained to her that since the room where the ashes were stored was changed around 2020, the ashes may have been lost or mistaken during the transportation process.
At present, the funeral home has found a box of ashes suspected to be Ms. Fan's father's ashes, but Ms. Fan does not agree, saying that the size and style of the urn are not consistent with her father's, and the ** and words on the urn are missing. Zhang Haonan, a member of the party group of the Xinmi Civil Affairs Bureau and director of the funeral service center, said in an interview that he apologized to the family, "This is a mistake in the work, we will search for files, consult tripartite institutions, and then take appropriate measures to solve the problem." The Xinmi Civil Affairs Bureau also said that it has entrusted the appraisal department of the public security organ to conduct an appraisal, but the results have not yet been released.
The Beijing News reporter consulted the Beijing Zhongzheng Judicial Appraisal Institute, the criminal investigation department of the public security organ and the funeral industry insiders on this matter, and the other party said that when the body is cremated, the high temperature will destroy the DNA (chemical with genetic information) in the human body, so it is generally impossible to identify the identity of the ashes, and relatives can only judge by the appearance of the urn or the personal items placed in the box.
Ms. Fan speculated that her father's ashes had been taken by mistake. Source: Screenshot of the program "City Received Office".
When storing ashes, manual registration is risky.
Xie Wenbing, an expert in smart funeral management, told the Beijing News that at present, the units that can store ashes in China include funeral homes, cemeteries, columbariums (floors), temples, underground palaces, etc. Under normal circumstances, funeral parlors or cemeteries at the municipal level and above, the management process is relatively standardized, "when storing ashes, the family members receive the corresponding ashes storage certificate, (above) there is information such as the storage location, and then the family can move out the ashes with the certificate." During the Qingming Festival, at the peak of the sacrifice sweep, some storage cabinets are set up with transparent glass, which can meet the needs of family members to pay homage to the sacrifice and sweepSome units are equipped with a large number of personnel to carry out ID verification and assist family members in carrying out memorial sweepsSome units do not move the ashes, and family members use the tablet to carry out memorial sweeps. If the family does not ask for it, the administrator will not open the locker under normal circumstances. ”
In Xie Wenbing's view, in township or village-level ashes storage units, it is even more rare for ashes to be lost or mixed, "The village follows the principle of nearby storage, and the neighbors and villagers know each other, and the number of storage is limited, and the urns are also very different, making it easier to distinguish." ”
However, in many county-level ash storage units, administrators use manual registration methods, handwriting the name of the deceased or the deceased's family members on a slip of paper, and then pasting it on the urn or pressing it under the urn. There are many urns that do not vary much in appearance and are easy to mistake. Xie Wenbing said that even with a simple information registration system, it is difficult to avoid human error, "especially during the peak period of the festival, if a large number of urns are stored at the same time, there will be a risk of error." "Coupled with the high turnover of staff, it is difficult to trace any mistakes.
In recent years, some funeral homes have begun to use smart storage and supervision systems, "one-to-one electronic labels are attached to the urn, and the system will enter the urn's information, storage space and ** when it is stored." If the cabinet door is opened during the storage period, when it will be opened, whether the location of the urn has changed, etc., the system also has records, which can avoid the consequences of human error to a greater extent. Xie Wenbing said.
Lawyer: If the custodian unit is accidentally lost, it will be liable for compensation.
Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner of Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm, said that for the protection of ashes, China's laws have corresponding provisions, and if the ashes are deliberately discarded or destroyed, they will violate the provisions of the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law" and be detained for not less than five days but not more than ten dayswhere the circumstances are serious, they are to be detained for between 10 and 15 days, and may be concurrently fined up to 1,000 RMB;In serious cases, it violates Article 302 of the Criminal Law, and anyone who steals, insults, or intentionally destroys corpses, bones, or ashes shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention, or controlled release.
Zhao Liangshan emphasized that if the perpetrator or the custodian accidentally lost the ashes, it was not intentional, and according to Article 1165 of the Civil Code, the actor or the custodian unit shall bear the tort liability for compensation, "In the case of Ms. Fan, the funeral home is required to compensate the family of the deceased for mental damages. ”
Duty Editor: Gu Li, Li Jia Minus, Kang Xihe.