Family’s loved one left to rot by funeral service
BURGERSFORT - A family were devastated when they discovered that the body of their loved one was left to rot in a mortuary at Mora Funeral Services in Riba Cross.
“They took the body of our deceased family member on Saturday. We visited the parlour on Monday afternoon for funeral arrangements and to say our final farewells. We became suspicious after they hesitated when we demanded to see the body,” said a family member.
According to the family, when they were finally allowed to view the remains, they were stunned. The corpse had begun to decompose.
“It looked fine when they took it, but what we saw on Monday was heartbreaking. The body had no ice nor was it frozen. I suspect they only put it in the freezer when we arrived,” said a family member.
“Surely it was supposed to be frozen by Monday? They had it for more than 48 hours.” The family said the deceased died from natural causes.
Steelburger/Lydenburg News spoke to Mora Funeral Services’ director, Isaac Mabogwa, who highlighted that they always go the extra mile and offer excellent service.
“We got a call from the client on Friday afternoon. We agreed with the family that we would only take the body the following day (Saturday). We wanted to avoid situations where the people are not dead and tend to be alive in our freezers.
“I heard of the complaint from the family. I suspect that the issue of the body not freezing might have been caused by the scorching heat experienced over the weekend.”
Mabogwa said the complaints from the family might have been fuelled by Mora Funeral’s charges. “We decided to refund them, as they were complaining non-stop.”
This newspaper learned that the body was moved to another mortuary in town.
