SIBU, April 4: Seven graves at Bukit Aup cemetery have been found desecrated, leaving family members of the deceased in sorrow over the cruel act.
The desecration was discovered when family members went the cemetery yesterday to pay their respect to their departed loved ones and to clean their graves in conjunction with the Ching Ming Festival.
Tiong Chong Yee, 38, from Sungai Merah was shocked to find the grave of his deceased sister had been damaged and her casket burnt almost to complete ashes.
His 18-year-old sister passed away last year.
“I went to her grave with another sister yesterday at about 11am yesterday and was shocked,” he said.
His sister’s grave had its cement cover removed and the casket was missing. When Tiong searched the area, he saw that the casket had been destroyed in a fire, purportedly done by the culprits responsible for removing it.
Tiong could also not find his sister’s remains. He later lodged a report at Sungai Merah police station.
Sibu United Chinese Graveyard Association chairman Teo Boon Siew who went to the cemetery today said the desecration showed that the culprits do not respect the dead.
“We don’t know who did it and why they did it. It could be that they were interested in the remains of the deceased as the remains could not be found there,” he opined.
He said after taking the remains of the deceased, the culprits appeared to have burnt the coffins using tyres.
Teo also believed that the desecration was done more than two weeks ago based on his findings at the scene as the grass at the fire site had started to regrow.
He called on the police to investigate the matter.
“I also hope that the police will issue letters to those who want to remove the remains of their loved ones to be relocated elsewhere,” he said. — DayakDaily
