An unlawful funeral service was discovered in Industria Street here in Makhado (Louis Trichardt) earlier this week, when concerned community members reported the malpractice to the Mirror.

The funeral service has been operating since March 1 and all of the community members close to the funeral parlour were sickened by the way the illegal funeral service conducted its business.

According to one of the community members, there is no running water in the building and the organs and parts removed from corpses are simply washed away by sewage water from a nearby fire hose. The plastic gloves and blood-spattered plastic sheets are dumped in the open at the back of the building.

Another community member told the Mirror that the refrigerator for the bodies only came into operation on March 15, which meant that the bodies weren’t always refrigerated when the funeral service initially started. During the night of March 15, a community member met the owner of the funeral services at the site and confronted him about his business not being at a suitable location and the unhygienic way the remains were disposed of. The concerned community also questioned the lawfulness of the funeral service. He mentioned the leaking ceiling and the fact that there was no running water at the premises.

The community member was busy informing the businessman about the regular sewage blockages on the premises when the owner of the building, from which both of them were renting, arrived at the premises. The complaining community member said he was promptly instructed by the owner of the building to vacate the premises before the end of April. Later the same week, the community member who complained about the illegal funeral service received a letter from the estate agency acting on behalf of the owner of the building, stating that if he was still on the premises by the end of April, he would be charged triple the rent he was paying at the tiem.

The Mirror made contact with the estate agent, who said the malpractice of the funeral parlour was rumoured, but quickly said that he didn’t know anything as he was on leave. When he was informed of photographic evidence taken at the funeral parlour, he immediately referred the Mirror to the owner of the building who, despite several attempts, could not be reached.

Mr Lampie Schoeman, regional manager for the Makhado Municipality, said on Wednesday that they had also been informed about the funeral parlour’s activities. He confirmed that the funeral service was indeed unlawful and said that Council had issued a notice to the businessman instructing him to cease all activities immediately. Should he not comply, Mr Schoeman said, legal action could follow. No funeral service is allowed to operate without a license and proper facilities in accordance with municipal health standards.