Three unclaimed bodies at the CWM Hospital morgue were given their final rites by the Shree Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji at the Vatuwaqa crematorium yesterday. According to Dr. Luke Nasedra, Medical Superintendent at CWM Hospital, the bodies had been in the mortuary for the last two to three years.
“We were waiting and no one claimed the bodies, so we wrote again to the Solicitor-General’s office through the permanent secretary of Health to inform them that nobody had come forward,” Dr. Nasedra explained. “Eventually, they gave us approval for the funeral rites for the bodies. By that time, the Shree Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha Fiji offered to be the guardians of the three bodies.”
Dr. Nasedra mentioned that the Ministry has observed an increase in the number of unclaimed bodies at the mortuary. “We’ve decided to implement a one-month cap. If after one month no one comes forth to claim a body, we will begin to label it as unclaimed,” he stated.
Dhirendra Nand, Sanatan Fiji’s national president, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Health for allowing Sanatan Fiji to perform the final rites for the deceased. “There should not be a situation where we have any unclaimed bodies in our mortuaries,” Nand said. “This is my plea to all young people and the community: please fulfill your moral duty to society.”