Health ministry gets dead serious over bribery at mortuaries
PETALING JAYA : The health ministry has issued a stern warning to hospital mortuary staff not to accept any form of payment, gift, or donation in exchange for handling the remains of dead people or providing information about the deceased.
In a recent circular sent to all hospitals, the ministry made it clear that accepting money or cooperating with funeral service agents could be seen as corruption.
Hospital staff are also barred from giving third parties — especially funeral service companies or their agents – any information about dead people.
The ministry said this directive is meant to protect the integrity of mortuary services and ensure that the remains are handed over to families without any interference or misconduct.
'Hospital authorities must make sure no external parties are involved in managing bodies before they are released to the next of kin,' the ministry said. 'Funeral service agents must not be allowed to loiter around mortuary areas.'
All dealings with funeral companies must be handled directly by the deceased's family — not through hospital staff recommendations, said the ministry.
This comes amid longstanding complaints of funeral agents harassing grieving families at mortuaries and allegedly offering to fast-track the release of remains, sometimes with the help of hospital insiders.
These complaints led to a special operation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in May last year in which several suspects were arrested.
Five government hospital employees in Seremban were charged in December with 21 counts of bribery related to mortuary services. The bribes ranged from RM600 to RM2,250 and were allegedly received between 2021 and 2024.
In a similar case three months earlier, four suspects including a medical assistant attached to Kajang Hospital's forensic unit were also arrested for corruption.
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