Three workers at the Cape Collinson Crematorium were jailed yesterday for nine to 18 months for stealing jewellery and other valuables from corpses, in offences a judge said were an insult to the dignity of the dead.
Wong Chi-sum, 37, who was convicted of four counts of theft, was jailed for 18 months while co-accused Lee Kim-wah, 46, and ex-worker Lam Chi-keung, 75, were each jailed for nine months.
A fourth worker, Siu Yat-heung, 50, will be sentenced on April 24 because a psychological report on him was not ready yesterday.
District Court judge Derek Pang Wai-cheong said the offences, carried out over a nine-year period, would inevitably cast a cloud over the cremation business.
'Opening coffins and stealing items from inside seriously damages the dignity of the deceased and it is very disrespectful,' the judge said.
'This kind of theft is more serious than picking up items from the refuse collection point at the crematorium . . . it certainly undermines the confidence of deceased's relatives.'
Judge Pang said the defendants, who denied all charges, had shown little remorse despite knowing what they had done was 'dishonest and greedy'.