SIBU: Seven graves at a Chinese cemetery in Bukit Aup here were severely damaged with the coffins burned and remains going missing in an incident recently.
Federation of Chinese Cemeteries Associations of Sibu Division chairman Teo Boon Siew said several family members of the dead had discovered what happened when they came to offer prayers and clean their ancestors' and family members' graves in conjunction with Ching Ming on Sunday.
"These seven graves were damaged. These graves are not (the types) that are buried in the ground. They are covered with cement and bricks.
"The coffins were dragged out of the graves and burned at the nearby bushes.
"We do not know what was the motive behind these acts," he said when contacted today.
Based on the burn marks at the bushes, Teo believes the incident happened about a week ago.
He said he felt something was amiss due to the fact that the remains had also gone missing.
He said that individuals responsible for it might have done it to collect the bones of the deceased. However, he said he could not speculate the motive behind it.
Teo condemned the act as desecration as it was something that insulted the deceased.
He believed people with experience in funeral handling and practices could be involved in the act.
All the family members of the people interred in the affected graves have lodged police reports at Sungai Merah police station.
Acting Sibu police chief Superintendent Collin Babat confirmed the incident and said four reports were lodged on Monday.
"The case will be investigated under Section 297 of the Penal Code for trespassing cemetery land," he said when contacted.
