Ministry explains body mix up

The Health Ministry has this morning confirmed that the incident which resulted in a family burying a wrong body in Sigatoka two weeks ago was due to an error on the part of those that issued the final paperwork and those that collected the body.

Spokesperson, Iliesa Tora said that the normal procedure in order to carry out a funeral would be where after a death certificate is issued by doctors, Police would then issue a burial order.

However, Tora said that between getting the burial order from Police and the collecting of the body of their loved one, the family of 60 year old Mere Navue of Nakorokula, Nadroga found out that her body had been issued to another family.

The Duvono family, who are relatives of 60 year old Navue confirmed that they found out a family from Naveyago had also taken the body of their Aunt and that a mix up had occurred due to the fact that the two women both had the same first name of Mere.

Tora said that another reason for the mix up was due to the fact that distant relatives had picked up the body of the deceased and thus did not know that they had the wrong body.

Meanwhile, Tora added that they are dealing with the matter internally and did not want to divulge any other details in relation to the investigation.

One measure that has come into place as a result of the mix-up is that identification tags will now be put on bodies that are kept at Hospital mortuaries around the country.