Environmental Public Health (Funeral Parlours) Regulations

Environmental Public Health Act

(Chapter 95, Section 113)

Rg 5

G.N. No. S 281/1973

REVISED EDITION 2000

(31st January 2000)

[1st September 1973]

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Environmental Public Health (Funeral Parlours) Regulations.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

[Deleted by S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

“caretaker” means a person appointed by the licensee to take charge of a funeral parlour;

[Deleted by S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

“corpse” means the body or remains of a deceased person or stillborn child, whether decomposed or otherwise, but does not include ashes;

[S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

“licence” means a licence issued under section 67 of the Act;

“licensee” means a holder of a licence;

[Deleted by S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

“medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner under the Medical Registration Act 1997 who holds a valid practising certificate granted under that Act;

[S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

“RBDA” means the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021, or the repealed Registration of Births and Deaths Act 1937 that was in force immediately before 29 May 2022;

[S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

“stillbirth” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021;

[S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

“stillborn child” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act 2021.

[S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

Inspection of funeral parlour

3.—(1) The Director-General or an authorised officer may —

(a)	at any time enter and inspect a funeral parlour;
(b)	examine any book or register or any other document relating to the funeral parlour; and
(c)	require from the licensee or caretaker of such funeral parlour or any other person such information as he may consider necessary to determine whether the funeral parlour has been established and used, managed, maintained or operated in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Regulations. [S 269/2005 wef 29/04/2005]

(2) Every such officer mentioned in paragraph (1) may make or cause to be made copies of or extracts from such book, register or document.

(3) The licensee or caretaker or any other person who, being required by such officer under paragraph (1) to furnish information, fails without reasonable excuse to comply with such requisition shall be guilty of an offence.

Applications for licences

4.—(1) Every applicant for a licence shall state the name, address and identity card number of the applicant.

(2) A licensee shall surrender his licence upon its expiry, revocation, cancellation or suspension to a public officer authorised in writing in that behalf by the Director-General.

[S 269/2005 wef 29/04/2005]

(3) The fee payable for the grant or renewal of a licence shall be $400.

[S 269/2005 wef 29/04/2005]

[S 203/2021 wef 01/04/2021]

Access to funeral parlour and facilities

5.—(1) No part of the premises used as a funeral parlour shall have direct access to any premises used for any other purpose.

(2) Every funeral parlour shall be provided with adequate and functional toilet facilities and facilities for washing.

Lighting and ventilation

6.—(1) Adequate lighting shall be provided in a funeral parlour.

(2) The rooms of a funeral parlour shall be adequately ventilated and extractor fans and other devices for ventilating the rooms shall be installed therein.

Embalming rooms

7. Every room used for the purpose of embalming or preparing any corpse for burial, cremation or putting any corpse into a coffin shall comply with the following requirements:

(a)

a floor of at least 3m x 1.5m in area shall be provided for each embalming or a table of such area shall be provided in such room;

(b)

the surface of the floor shall be made of a smooth impervious material and the area where the walls meet the floor shall be rounded off;

(c)

the floor shall be sufficiently graded so that all moisture may drain into a gully trap which shall lead into a sewer;

(d)

the internal surfaces of the walls shall be tiled or made of smooth impervious material to a height of not less than 2m;

(e)

every window and extractor fan shall be at such positions so that no nuisance is caused to the occupants of any neighbouring or adjoining premises or any other person in a public place;

(f)

every door shall be fitted with a self-closing device, and every door and window shall be screened or otherwise rendered fly-proof;

(g)

every door opening into any part of the premises to which the public has access shall be clearly marked “NO ADMITTANCE” in the English and Chinese languages;

(h)

there shall be provided in the room at least one embalming table of at least 2.1m x 0.9m in area which shall —

(i)	be in such a position as to leave an unobstructed space of not less than 0.6m on every side thereof;
(ii)	be made of or lined with smooth impervious material and fitted with a raised edge of at least 0.05m in height, on every side thereof; and
(iii)	slope to one end so as to drain any moisture falling thereon towards a water pipe or channel so constructed as to lead into the gully mentioned in paragraph (c);

(i)

adequate hygienic facilities for washing shall be provided therein; and

(j)

after an embalmment every part of the room shall be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected.

Preparation of corpse only in embalming room

8. No corpse shall be embalmed or prepared for burial, cremation or put into a coffin in a funeral parlour otherwise than in a room used exclusively for such purpose.

Duties of licensee

9. The licensee of a funeral parlour shall —

(a)	keep the premises, including all fittings, equipment, furniture, utensils and apparatuses therein, in a clean and sanitary condition to the satisfaction of the Director-General; [S 269/2005 wef 29/04/2005]
(aa)	ensure that a corpse is not received into the funeral parlour unless the death or stillbirth (as the case may be) has been registered under the RBDA or, in the absence of such registration, a medical practitioner has issued a written confirmation of the death or stillbirth, as the case may be; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(b)	ensure that no nuisance such as noise, smoke, smell or fume is caused;
(c)	ensure that there is no amplification of any noise caused by cymbals, gongs, drums or any other instrument, and that the use of such cymbals, gongs, drums and other instruments shall cease at midnight; and
(d)	ensure that the burning of joss paper or any other similar article is carried out in a receptacle made for that purpose.

[S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

10. The licensee of a funeral parlour shall keep a register in the English language in which shall be recorded the following particulars for each corpse received into the funeral parlour:

(a)	where the corpse is that of a deceased person — the name, address, age and sex of the deceased person; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(b)	the date and place of death or stillbirth, as the case may be; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(ba)	the cause of death of the deceased person or stillborn child, as the case may be; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(c)	the date on, and the time at, which the corpse was received into the premises; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(d)	the date on, and the time at, which the corpse was removed from the funeral parlour; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(e)	the date and document number of any permit for the burial, cremation, transportation to or removal from Singapore, as the case may be, of the corpse; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(f)	the name of the person signing any permit for the burial, cremation, transportation to or removal from Singapore, as the case may be, of the corpse; [S 269/2005 wef 29/04/2005] [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(g)	the name, address and identity card number of the next-of-kin; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(h)	the document number of the certificate of death or stillbirth issued under the RBDA, or (where such certificate has not been issued) the document number of the written confirmation mentioned in regulation 9(aa) that is issued, for the death or stillbirth, as the case may be; [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]
(i)	the manner in which the corpse was disposed of after its removal from the funeral parlour. [S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

[S 418/2022 wef 29/05/2022]

Penalty

11. A person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

[G.N. No.S 281/73]

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