Grieving Indonesians are ‘snatching bodies’ to bypass coronavirus burial rules

Covid-19 victims must be wrapped in plastic and buried quickly, meaning relatives cannot practise traditional Muslim funeral rites

Hospitals are boosting their security as some distraught families are forcefully taking away the bodies of their loved ones

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Medical workers bury a coronavirus victim in Surabaya on June 12, 2020. Photo: Zuma Wire/dpa

Published: 11:13am, 13 Jun 2020Updated: 10:24pm, 13 Jun 2020

Hospitals in Indonesia are boosting security at their morgues, police said, after a spate of body-snatchings by relatives seeking traditional burials for family members who died of the coronavirus.

Under new rules in the sprawling archipelago, Covid-19 victims must be wrapped in plastic and buried quickly to prevent the virus spreading, meaning grieving relatives are unable to follow Muslim funeral practices, which include washing the dead from head to toe.

Families in the Muslim-majority nation have also been urged not to linger at cemeteries, robbing them of the chance to perform prayers for loved ones.

Large groups of distraught relatives descended on several hospitals in Makassar on Sulawesi island this week, with some managing to forcefully take away bodies set to be buried under the virus protocols, according to authorities.

At least 33 people were arrested, said local police spokesman Ibrahim Tompo, who added they faced up to seven years in prison for violating health quarantine regulations.

Workers prepare a grave to bury suspected Covid-19 victims in Jakarta on June 12, 2020. Photo: AP

In response, Makassar authorities have deployed more workers to guard local hospitals, Tompo said.