Around 200 people seen attending funeral procession at Jurong West, flouting Covid-19 safe distancing measures

Around 200 people seen attending funeral procession at Jurong West, flouting Covid-19 safe distancing measures
PHOTO: Instagram/ Singapore Incidents

A large funeral procession took place at Jurong West on Wednesday (Sept 1), drawing the attention of curious onlookers and uninvited guests.

In a video shared by Singapore Incidents on Instagram, its caption states the procession was held at the vicinity of Block 463, Jurong West. 

An estimated 200 people were seen sending off the deceased, Shin Min Daily News reported. 

Speaking to reporters from the Chinese evening daily, the eldest son, who wants to be identified only as Alan, said that news of his father's death from lung disease was shared only to relatives and his closest friends.

The 29-year-old said: "Since the funeral was held at home, we tried to follow the Covid-19 measures by arranging our guests to visit at different times. But when more of my father's friends began to show up, I told them to wait downstairs. 

"When an unexpected situation like this turns up, there's nothing we can do about it. We tried our best."

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CTSBVCdAOMf/[/embed]

According to the National Environment Agency's Covid-19 guidelines, the number of attendees at wakes and funerals have to be kept to 30 or fewer at any one time during Phase 2HA and Phase 3.

In July, a funeral procession at Jalan Bukit Merah was attended by nearly 200 people. 

And in June, police investigated a funeral procession in Boon Lay which was attended by nearly 200 people, some of them maskless, The Straits Times reported.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the current cap on attendees at wakes and funerals is 20.

chingshijie@asiaone.com 

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