Checking Out
Any discussion of death makes many people uncomfortable and is a social taboo in some communities. But death is inevitable for all of us, something we need to prepare ourselves for and even before then perhaps to handle in respect of a loved one. So full marks should go to Ombudsman Jack Chan Jick-chi for taking the initiative to examine the procedures around this awkward subject.
He naturally focused on the role of government departments because that is his remit. In an executive summary of his investigation report, published earlier this month, Chan outlined some of the problems facing family members upon death of a loved one, and put forward a number of practical proposals for addressing them.
One main recommendation is that all the relevant departments should get together and examine the feasibility of developing a one-stop thematic website about after-death arrangements. That could certainly make a useful contribution. In endorsing the idea, I would also urge any such interdepartmental effort to take an even wider, more holistic view.
Once an individual has passed away, there are a whole raft of decisions to be made and actions taken. Who is authorised to take them? There may be a surviving spouse which would seem to be an obvious option but that person might be overwrought with grief or otherwise incompetent. The burden would then fall to the children or other relatives, but they might not be able to agree.
One question that might arise is whether there is a religious angle, because different religions have different customs and indeed requirements. Another is the possibility of a cross-border aspect, where the deceased passed away outside Hong Kong and wishes to have remains disposed of here, or the reverse, dying here but wishing to be buried or have ashes scattered in country or province of origin.
The deceased may have left instructions about his own disposal, for example authority for organs to be made available for transplant. We need to make sure such information is passed automatically to the relatives, similarly with burial or cremation wishes.
Once arrangements for the body have been finalised surviving relatives will be faced with a veritable tsunami of practical issues. A relatively urgent one will be the employment of the domestic helper if there is one. The employment contracts are signed by an individual and if that is the deceased then arrangements must be made smoothly for change of employer or the helper could be on her way back to the Philippines or Indonesia just when she is needed most by the surviving family.
Utilities contracts might be in the name of the deceased also. Changing the identity of the account holder is less urgent because the companies will be relaxed as long as they are being paid. But at some point the autopay arrangements will have to be amended, which brings us into the whole realm of bank accounts. Employers or pension providers will have to be informed so at some point flows of money into the account will cease and any bills settled automatically from them will not be able to be met because of insufficient funds. This raises the wider issue of whether the deceased left a will and obtaining probate for the estate.
Apologies if this list of problem issues is scaring some readers to – well, death.
While a thematic website would provide a degree of help, many people – especially among the elderly and by definition very likely to be affected -- are not technologically literate. They would need a hard copy on paper to guide them through the procedures. The website, and any paper copy, would need to be bilingual and preferable also in some minority languages.
Sheer complexity leads some families to engage the services of a funeral agent. These can be expensive and competition for business can invite abuse, for example salespeople lurking near the office issuing death certificates then jumping forward with offers to help at a time when families feel most vulnerable. There have been suggestions the industry should be regulated.
Several government departments are involved in the various processes. The Ombudsman identified the Hospital Authority, Department of Health, the Immigration and Food and Environmental Hygiene Departments. In drawing up a comprehensive response there may also be a role for Social Welfare, the churches and some NGOs. That rather suggests the need for a steering group headed by the Home Affairs Bureau to bring everyone together.
There is a separate discussion at the moment over giving people a right to decide where to die i.e. in hospital or a care home or at their own home. The outcome of these deliberations may also need to be taken into account.
Finally there is the wider issue of green burials which the government is trying to encourage. But what exactly constitutes an environmentally appropriate one. Most of the options (scattering at sea, in a memorial garden, in an urn which is stored in a dedicated building) seem to involve disposal of ashes of cremated bodies. But is cremation itself truly environmentally friendly? It involves use of fossil fuels to generate great heat. In other areas of human activity we talk about recycling rather than furnaces. That would suggest putting bodies in the earth until they have dissolved naturally, then re-using the plot. Or even burial at sea (my personal favourite).
The long and the short of it is that death is an important subject, affecting everyone. Distasteful as it may seem, we all need to think about how to put in place now arrangements that will facilitate the duties of our loved ones after we have gone. Write a will. Set out organ donation and funeral wishes clearly. Today – tomorrow may be too late.