This is where two bodies were illegally exhumed in Mannings Hill, St Andrew. Residents of the rural community want the Ministry of Health to examine the site for any possible disease. (Photo: Lionel Rookwood)

Chief Medical Officer of the Kingston and St Andrew Health Department, Dr Herb Elliott, says the department is investigating the circumstances under which the bodies of a husband and wife who had been dead for 20 years were illegally dug up by persons last Tuesday in Mannings Hill, St Andrew.

On Saturday, the Observer reported that the bodies of Eustace Grey and his wife were dug up by a relative and another man, who said they wanted the bodies moved as they wanted to sell the land. Residents at the time expressed concern that the way the exhumation was done could pose a health hazard as no chemicals had been used.

In addition, the Constant Spring Police, who intercepted the men after an alarm was raised, released them without pressing charges on the basis that they were unaware of the law which addresses exhumation.

Yesterday, Dr Elliott said the Health Department had not been notified of any such exhumation. He said the situation had been brought to their attention by the newspaper report.

"We were not notified; we could not respond to it before today. We have a report from the newspaper and we are investigating it," Dr Elliott said, noting further that the action of the men was "illegal".

Dr Elliott said any such request to exhume a body would first have to be made to the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, which would then notify the Health Department.

"We would then give permission based on where it is and for any exhumation we would have to have a public health team there," Dr Elliott pointed out.

"The other thing is, if you want to do an exhumation you must have a licensed funeral director and you must know where you are going to bury the body after and exhumation takes place, either late in the afternoon after sundown or very early in the morning," he explained.

"If you want to exhume bodies from your yard, you have to go through a procedure. When you exhume a body you have to put it somewhere else, you cannot just dump it, it is against the law, and that is why you need an undertaker," Dr Elliot said, noting that fees for such an activity could amount to as much as $40,000.

In the meantime, he said illegal exhumations were a niggling concern.

"It is a concern because recently people want to sell land for housing development and of course, the developers are telling them that if the graves are there they can't do it and so therefore they have been taking things into their own hands and this is a problem," the doctor said.

Director of the Environmental Health Unit, Peter Knight, has emphasised that while exhumations are done in Jamaica, they must be done with authorisation.

"Permission has been granted from time to time like, for example, when roads are being constructed companies will request permission to exhume bodies, bauxite companies do this as well," said Knight.

"It is something that is allowed, but it has to be done with permission. It is not something persons can just do because they feel to remove the body. It is something that is controlled by the Law," Knight told the Observer.

"From time to time at the ministry level we direct persons who are desirous of moving their deceased loved ones, or people building roads or mining bauxite, so it is something we know of. It is perfectly okay to exhume or remove dead bodies but within the ambit of the Law," he added.

In the meantime, the Constant Spring police say they are awaiting the guidance of the director of public prosecutions on how to proceed in the matter.

Exhumation is addressed in several statutes including the Kingston and St Andrew Cemetries Act. Under that statute, it is required, among other things, that "every person who shall obtain a licence for the removal of any body which shall have been interred in the cemetery shall deposit with the Town Clerk a copy of the licence together with an application in writing stating the date of interment and the exact position in the cemetery where the body was buried and requesting that a date and time be fixed for the removal of the body".

A fee is also required to be paid at the time the application is made.

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