By Desmond Ng and Lediati Tan

THE death of an Indonesian matriarch here has sparked an unusual showdown among her children - over where she should be buried.

The normally peaceful Mount Vernon Columbarium was the scene of the standoff between the two groups of siblings as they tussled over their mother's body yesterday.

The group who didn't want her buried in Singapore used two cars to block the exit of the funeral parlour to prevent the hearse from leaving.

At one point, the police were called in.

The deceased was Mrs Erma Sutandi, 88, a Chinese Indonesian who died of lung cancer on Friday.

She left behind three sons, eight daughters and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Her husband died about 45 years ago.

The cortege was supposed to leave for Choa Chu Kang cemetery by noon yesterday where she was to be buried.

But some of her children opposed the idea, and wanted her body to be sent to Bandung, Indonesia, to be buried there.

This disagreement escalated into a standoff when two family members drove their cars to block the road so that the hearse could not leave for the cemetery.

One parked his Honda Prelude at the exit gate of the parlour and the other parked his Mercedes Benz some 50m further along the one-way road.

It effectively blocked other drivers from leaving the area, and they had to reverse their vehicles to leave by another exit. Stalemate

Inside the funeral parlour, some of the family members were seen wailing and holding on to the coffin to prevent the undertakers from moving it to the hearse, reported Shin Min Daily News.

The drama unfolded at about 10am.

But the coffin was not moved because the family members were afraid that a struggle would tilt it over, a caretaker who declined to be named told The New Paper.

As a result of the stalemate, the cortege was not able to leave for Choa Chu Kang cemetery.

The police arrived shortly after and the two cars that were blocking the road were subsequently moved.

The hearse was still parked in front of the parlour last night.

The wake had begun on Friday and there were no disagreements before the showdown yesterday, said a family member who declined to be named.

He said that the deceased had been living here since she was diagnosed with lung cancer about five years ago.

This was to enable her to seek medical treatment more easily as she had to undergo chemotherapy for her condition.

While in Singapore, she lived with a son and a daughter, who are both Singapore permanent residents (PR).

The family member said: "The two of them wanted her to be buried here while another group wanted her body to be flown back to Bandung.

"There are also some of us who are still undecided."

He said he and other relatives had flown here from Indonesia after learning the bad news.

Mrs Sutandi's death was unexpected as she was responding well to treatment, he added.

Hence, the family did not have any prior discussions about their mother's final resting place.

Inside the parlour, a few luggage bags were seen lying on the floor.

The altar was simple and appeared to have been hastily put together.

Incense papers were strewn all over the floor.

The few wreaths that were placed outside the parlour also gave no indication of whom they were from and who they were meant for.

The family member added that some siblings wanted her body back in Bandung because their father is buried there.

He said: "We have a burial plot there and some of them want her body back in Indonesia because that was where she was born.

"And they want her to be near their father."

He added that the children were still trying to resolve the issue. Mrs Sutandi used to run a business trading in telecommunications equipment in Indonesia, he said.

She had brought up all her children single-handedly after her husband died unexpectedly.

One of the deceased's sons, who had opposed the move to Bandung, declined to be interviewed.

The police said they received a call regarding a dispute between two parties at Mount Vernon Columbarium at about 10.40am yesterday and both parties were advised of their legal recourse.

This article was first published in The New Paper.