Pleas made for increased security as urns are disturbed and valuables taken
Distressed families have called for more police and security guards to patrol cemeteries and crematoriums after grave robbers at Cape Collinson Crematorium damaged 48 niches and stole valuables from them.
Lee Chee-sing was devastated when told his wife's urn was among those vandalised last week. Thieves also took a Tudor watch worth $7,000.
'I bought this for my wife on her 50th birthday. She valued it so much she never wore it, and when she passed away, I figured the watch should always be with her,' he said.
'Her urn was exposed, the metal frame around the niche was removed, and even the coins I placed at the four corners to ensure her spirit rested in peace were stolen.
'It is important for Chinese that their loved ones are in peace after they are gone, but now my wife has been disturbed.'
The government has ruled out paying for repairs, with a spokeswoman from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) saying the department did not have a policy for compensating families who are victims of such crimes.