Over 250 electric wreaths at elderly woman's Ang Mo Kio funeral expose residents to bright lights
It was bright.Ruth Chai |
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A car park in Ang Mo Kio was lit up with more than 250 electronic wreaths for an elderly woman who passed away.
While some called the sheer magnitude of the gesture "ridiculous", others extended their sympathies to the mourning family.
When a Shin Min Daily News reporter visited Block 118 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4, they noticed at least 258 electronic wreaths lined up at the car park.
The wreaths were placed on the walkways, grass patches and parking lots.
The wreaths extended from Block 114 to Block 118.
"Ridiculous" number of wreaths: resident
Some residents thought that the gesture was too extravagant, and affected the day-to-day lives of the living.
A woman, 71, surnamed Fu (transliterated from Chinese), told Shin Min that the woman's family had set up the mourning hall on Feb. 2.
Fu thought that there was a "ridiculous" number of electronic wreaths.
She added that the woman's family had installed generators in front of her house to power the electric wreaths, which inconvenienced her.
"There were too many wreaths, and it was outrageous that the whole parking lot was so bright," she said.
Some more empathetic
Other residents, however, thought that the sheer number of wreaths did not affect their lives much, and asked fellow neighbours to be more sympathetic towards the grieving family.
A man, 74, surnamed Pan (transliterated from Chinese) said the woman had lived in Block 113 before she passed away.
"I heard the old woman died from a fall. Her husband is an entrepreneur and participated in many community activities, which is why so many people sent wreaths," Pan said.
Speaking to Shin Min, the family of the woman said the wreaths were sent by relatives and friends. They declined to comment further.
Shin Min reported that the funeral took place on Wednesday (Feb. 7).
Limit of 10 wreaths: NEA
According to the National Environmental Agency (NEA), there can be no more than 10 light emitting wreaths deployed at each funeral wake.
"Deployment shall be confined to funeral wake area and is subject to the conditions and approvals from town councils and or relevant authority," said NEA.
Speaking to Shin Min, the Ang Mo Kio Town Council said that they were aware of the funeral.
They added that they issued a letter to the bereaved's family on Feb. 6, advising them to comply with NEA's guidelines.
They also urged the family to lower their volume from 10:30pm to 7am.
A spokesman for town council said that they will continue to monitor the situation and expressed condolences to the woman's family.
Top photo via Shin Min
