China probes funeral industry for graft following shocking corpse harvesting, theft revelations

BEIJING, Aug 14 — China has uncovered widespread corruption in its funeral services industry, state media said today, with offences such as illegal fees and cemeteries committed by long-time managers and officials of funeral homes.

Just last week a Chinese company was caught up in a scandal over the illegal harvesting, theft and resale of thousands of corpses, some from funeral homes, after a report by state-backed outlet the Paper went viral on social media.

Investigations by disciplinary authorities across the provinces of Anhui, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Sichuan and Yunnan have led to numerous accusations of violations by employees of funeral parlours and similar bodies, the state-run China Daily said today.

Dozens of cases have emerged since investigations started at the beginning of the year and many of those targeted have extensive industry experience, it added.

Graft campaigns in Anhui, Liaoning and Jilin exposed funeral parlours charging illegal fees, along with illegal construction and operation of cemeteries and staff corruption, said the Global Times, a mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.

In the eastern province of Anhui, Communist Party investigators detained Zhang Duo, an employee of the Panji district funeral home in Huainan city, for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”, the local government said.

The term is a euphemism that usually refers to graft cases.

Zhang could not immediately be reached for comment.

In the southwestern province of Sichuan, discipline officials in the city of Dazhou launched proceedings against 89 people, and detained six, the China Daily said.

Also being investigated is a manager surnamed Yang, working at two companies in the province’s Quxian county, with more than 30 years in the funeral business, the government said in a statement, but gave no details.

Authorities in northeastern Jilin have also stepped up efforts to combat misconduct and corruption in the industry, in response to complaints from the public, state media added.’ — Reuters