Hospital mortuary fees will unfairly penalise Hong Kong families: funeral sector
Funeral Business Association critcises new fees kicking in next year, calls for longer waiver period to allow for admin delays, capacity issues
Mortuary charges set to be introduced at Hong Kong public hospitals next year could unfairly penalise families for delays in after-death arrangements, an industry association has argued, despite authorities saying those with financial difficulties will not have to pay.
The funeral sector on Thursday criticised new measures gazetted last week that would introduce fees for mortuary services that are currently free of charge at public hospitals.
The tiered fee structure, set to take effect on January 1 next year, will ensure that storage for a body is still free for the first three days after a death.
The daily charge would then increase incrementally – HK$100 (US$13) per day from day four; HK$200 from day 18; and HK$550 from day 34 onwards.
The authority confirmed that the new rates were determined after considering hospital operations and the cost of similar services in the market.
But Cheng Chi-kit, chairman of the Funeral Business Association, said the free period should be extended to around a month, as it could take three to five days for the government to process papers and spots for cremation services by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department could take up to 15 days to become available.