Just a tradition: Barrister tells court it is ‘absurd and wrong’ to class Cheung Chau ceremony as funeral business
Appeal over judicial review decision on licensing of ritual honouring dead at island pavilion
It is absurd and wrong to suggest traditional ceremonies honouring deceased indigenous Cheung Chau residents in the island’s pavilion would trigger the licensing requirement for carrying on the business of a funeral parlour, the High Court heard on Friday.
Barrister Abraham Chan’s argument came after the Court of First Instance sided with Cheung Chau resident Kwok Cheuk-kin last February in finding his client, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene, had failed to enforce the law when the unlicensed pavilion was causing nuisance to local residents.
It was said the pavilion at Tai San Praya Road had since the 1970s been used for ceremonial activities, in accordance with local traditions and customs to honour those who have lived on the island for at least 10 consecutive years.
The court, in approving Kwok’s judicial review, instructed the director to consider whether any enforcement actions needed to be carried out against Cheung Chau Rural Committee, which managed the pavilion.
But Chan argued in the appeal on Friday that the lower court judge has interpreted the Funeral Parlours Regulation too broadly in reaching his judgment. Indigenous residents were merely paying respects and condolences in their own temple or church according to local religious beliefs.
Such ad hoc ceremonies should not be covered by licensing requirements, he said, as they were not the same as carrying out the business of a funeral parlour.