Death in Singapore

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 It has been suggested that History of cremation in Singapore be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Deaths in Singapore offset the population increase from live births. In 2005, 16,200 people died of various causes, up from 15,800 the year before. The death rate was 4.3 deaths per 1,000 population. [1] There are strict regulations surrounding death and treatment of the body after death. While cancer is the number one killer in Singapore, suicide is catching up as a significant, non-medical, cause of death, especially among teenagers.

Contents

[edit] Causes of death

As of 2004, the top causes of death in Singapore are cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, cerebrovascular disease (including stroke), accidents and violence, chronic obstructive lung disease, and diabetes, in that order.[2] [3]

[edit] Capital punishment

Main article: Capital punishment in Singapore

Capital punishment is legal in Singapore; the per-capita execution rate between 1994–1999 has been estimated by the United Nations to be 13.57 executions per 1,000,000 population, which is the highest in the world. Hanging is the method used for all executions, which are carried out in Changi Prison on Fridays at dawn. According to unofficial statistics compiled by Amnesty International, about 408 people have been hanged between 1991 and 2003.[4]

[edit] Suicide

Suicide is a main nonmedical cause of death in Singapore. Although attempted suicide is an offence punishable with jail under section 309 of the Penal Code,[5] Singapore still sees many cases of suicide each year. 1,700 people killed themselves between 2000 and 2004,[6] 346 of them in 2003 alone.[7] For every successful suicide attempt, there were seven unsuccessful attempts.[6]

Suicide is now the one of the top causes of death in Singapore youths;[6] in 2001, 5 children younger than 15 took their lives, and 37 people between the age of 15–25 did so.[7] The coroner's report of a junior college student who killed himself because he believed his penis was too small was reported in international media.[8] [9] The pressure exerted by parents on their children to produce good academic results has also been a contributing factor in some suicides.[10]

[edit] Treatment of the body after death

When a person dies, a doctor will certify the cause of death if it is known and due to natural causes. He will then fill up a Certificate of Cause of Death (CCOD) which will be given to the family of the deceased.

If the doctor is unable to determine the cause of death, or the death is due to non-natural causes, he is required by the Criminal Procedure Code[11] to refer the case to the police. The police will provide a hearse to send the body to the Centre for Forensic Medicine (CFM) Mortuary at Block 9, Singapore General Hospital, and they will inform the family when to visit the mortuary.

At the CFM Mortuary, the family will view and identify the body of the deceased in the presence of the coroner, who reviews the case and determines if an autopsy is required. The family will be informed of the coroner's decision and the time to claim the body for the funeral. If an autopsy is conducted and reveals that the death is unnatural, the police will conduct further investigations into the cause of death with the family's assistance. Once the investigations are complete, the family will be told to attend a Coroner's Inquiry at the Subordinate Courts. Only after that will they be able to claim the body.

After the family obtains the CCOD, they usually engage a funeral director (also known as an undertaker) who collects the body, embalms it if necessary, and delivers it to the wake. In addition, they have to decide whether the body is to be cremated or buried, and register the death.[12] [13] The funeral director also helps to make arrangements for the wake and funeral, according to the religious beliefs and wishes of the family.[14]

[edit] Cremation

Main article: History of cremation in Singapore
The Garden of Remembrance is a private columbarium in Singapore.
The Garden of Remembrance is a private columbarium in Singapore.

There are three crematoria in Singapore. The only government crematorium, operated by the National Environment Agency, is at Mandai,[15] and there are two privately-operated crematoria—one in Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery at Bright Hill Drive, and the other in Tse Toh Aum Temple at Sin Ming Drive. Private crematoria are more expensive than the state columbarium; it costs S$300 to cremate a body at the Kong Meng San monastery, but only S$100 for the same at Mandai.[16] [17]

After the body is cremated, the family of the deceased can store the ashes at home or in a columbarium, or scatter them in the sea about 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) south of Pulau Semakau.[14]

There are three government columbaria and 57 private ones. The government-operated columbaria are at Mandai, Yishun and Choa Chu Kang. (A fourth government columbarium at Mount Vernon is due to close at an unspecified date due to redevelopment of its surrounding area into a public housing estate.[18]) Private columbaria are operated by the Kong Meng San monastery, the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Mary of the Angels in Bukit Batok, and the Singapore Soka Association, among others. As with crematoria, there is a significant price difference between niches in private and government columbaria. A standard niche in any government columbarium costs less than S$900, but one at the Kong Meng San monastery costs more than S$15,000. The government columbaria allocate niches sequentially, and charge an extra S$250 for any location change request;[17] for an extra price, the private columbaria allow families to choose niche locations subject to availability and even pre-book niches before death.

There has been an increase in the number of Singaporeans pre-booking niches at private crematoria, even though some people consider talking about death and pre-booking a final resting place inauspicious. Reasons for pre-booking include wanting one's ashes to be close to those of loved ones, and hedging against higher prices for niches in future.[19]

Foreigners who die outside Singapore are allowed to be cremated in the country, but their ashes have to be placed in private columbaria.[12]

[edit] Burial

With the limit of 15 years for burial, such graves are becoming rarer in Singapore.
With the limit of 15 years for burial, such graves are becoming rarer in Singapore.

Choa Chu Kang Cemetery Complex is the only one in Singapore still accepting burials. Others, such as Bidadari Cemetery,[20] have made way for redevelopment. Burials cost up to S$420 for children and S$940 for adults. The complex is divided into cemeteries according to religion, including Parsi, Jewish and Christian.

On 1 November 1998, the NEA implemented a policy to limit the burial period of all graves to 15 years, due to a shortage of space in the cemeteries. After being buried for 15 years, graves are exhumed and the remains removed. If the religion of the deceased permits cremation, the exhumed remains are cremated and stored in government columbaria niches; otherwise, the remains are re-buried in smaller individual plots.[17]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Singapore statistics. Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  2. ^ Health facts Singapore 2005: Principal causes of death. Ministry of Health, Singapore. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  3. ^ Charts on demographic indicators. Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  4. ^ Singapore: The death penalty - A hidden toll of executions. Amnesty International. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  5. ^ Penal Code (Cap. 224, 1985 Rev. Ed.).
  6. ^ a b c "Singapore now a suicide capital", The Nation, 2006-03-13. Retrieved on 2006-05-08. 
  7. ^ a b "Singapore: When children commit suicide", The Think Centre, 2005-09-14. Retrieved on 2006-05-08. 
  8. ^ ""Small" penis drives teenager to suicide", Independent Online, 2006-04-19. Retrieved on 2006-05-08. 
  9. ^ "Man kills self over genital size", Hindustan Times, 2006-04-20. Retrieved on 2006-05-08. 
  10. ^ "Girl's suicide highlights Singapore school stress", Reuters, 2001-08-29. Retrieved on 2006-05-08. 
  11. ^ Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68, 1985 Rev. Ed.).
  12. ^ a b What to do when a death occurs. National Environment Agency. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  13. ^ Death registration. Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  14. ^ a b Arranging a funeral. National Environment Agency. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  15. ^ The Mandai crematorium replaced the 40-year old one at Mount Vernon, which stopped operations on 2004-06-30. NEA press release: New crematorium and columbarium facilities at Mandai, 40-year-old Mount Vernon Crematorium closes on 30 June. National Environmental Agency. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  16. ^ The quoted rate is for an adult body's cremation.
  17. ^ a b c Burial, cremation and ash storage. National Environment Agency. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  18. ^ Management of government-owned cemetery, crematoria and columbaria. National Environment Agency. Retrieved on 2006-05-08.
  19. ^ Hazel Yong. "Finding their niche in life for death", The Straits Times, 2006-05-07. 
  20. ^ "Singapore clears graves for apartments", Associated Press, 2002-12-02. Retrieved on 2006-05-08. 

[edit] External links

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