Malaysia legislation
Section 44
Section 44
If at any time it appears to the Minister that—
(a)
burials in any cemetery or place of burial should be wholly discontinued;
(b)
the cremation of corpses in any crematorium or any place used for the cremation of corpses should be wholly discontinued; or
(c)
any cemetery or place of burial, crematorium or any place used for the cremation of corpses or any part thereof is being used in contravention of any condition of the licence granted in respect of the cemetery or crematorium, the Minister may order that the cemetery or crematorium or any part thereof shall be closed or the licence in respect thereof shall be revoked, as the case may be, and thereafter it shall not be lawful for
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any person to use the cemetery or crematorium or any part thereof for the burial or cremation of corpses.
Exhumation 45.
No corpse shall be exhumed otherwise than—
(a)
by a notice from a public health officer under section 43;
(b)
by order of a Judge, Magistrate, Coroner or
Commissioner of Police for the purpose of judicial inquiry or proceedings; or
(c)
by written permission granted for that purpose by the
Minister.
Penalty 46.
Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this
Part shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand ringgit and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment not exceeding eighteen months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
Bringing corpses into or out of the State 47.—
No person shall bring into or take out of the State any corpse or human remains except under and in accordance with the terms of a permit granted by the Director.
(2)
A permit granted under subsection (1) shall stipulate the manner in which the corpse or human remains should be preserved or conveyed into or out of the State and any other measures to be taken by the permit holder to prevent danger to public health or nuisance to any person or the public.
(3)
The applicant for such permit shall be required to furnish to the Director all relevant information and documents relating to the corpse or human remains to enable him to give consideration to the application.
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(4)
No officer of customs or immigration officer or person having control of any aircraft or vessel shall allow any corpse or human remains to be taken into or out of the State unless he is satisfied that a permit in respect thereof has been issued by the
Director under this section.
(5)
For the purpose of this section, “human remains” includes the ashes of a deceased person who has been cremated.
(6)
Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence: Penalty, a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit.
Unclaimed corpses 48.—
Where the Director is satisfied that—
(a)
the identity of the person whose death occurred in the
State could not be ascertained or is unknown; or
(b)
no relative or next of kin of a person who died in the
State has claimed his body for burial within seventy-two hours of his death or such extended period as may be approved, he may order the body of the deceased person to be buried at any cemetery licensed under section 38, or be cremated at a crematorium licensed thereunder.
(2)
Before the burial or cremation of any corpse under subsection (1), the Director shall cause particulars of the deceased person to be recorded and transmit a copy thereof to the Director of
National Registration, Sarawak. A copy of such particulars may also be supplied to any person who furnishes evidence acceptable to the
Director that he is the next of kin or administrator, executor or personal representative of the deceased person concerned.
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