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Cutbacks and Poor Oversight Blamed for Cumuto Burial Scandal
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago /Crime & Justice

Cutbacks and Poor Oversight Blamed for Cumuto Burial Scandal

From Trinidad Express · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Cutbacks in state agencies and inadequate oversight of funeral contracts led to a planned mass burial of 56 bodies, including 50 infants, in Cumuto, Trinidad and Tobago.
  • Funeral industry representatives stated that cost-saving measures within hospitals and state institutions have reduced the budget for handling deceased persons, potentially compromising dignity.
  • Investigations are ongoing into the incident, with funeral professionals emphasizing that while mass graves are permissible, proper and dignified handling of each coffin is legally required.

Trinidad and Tobago is grappling with a disturbing scandal involving the planned mass burial of 56 bodies at the Cumuto Cemetery, a situation directly linked to severe cutbacks within state agencies and a shocking lack of oversight concerning funeral disposal contracts. The bodies, comprising 50 infants and six adults, were set to be interred en masse, highlighting a grave failure in our public institutions.

Cutbacks within State agencies and poor oversight of funeral disposal contracts created the conditions that led to the scheduled mass burial of 56 bodies at the Cumuto Cemetery last month.

— David SimpsonIdentifying the root causes of the Cumuto burial scandal.

David Simpson, managing director of Simpson's Memorial Ltd and an executive member of the Association of Funeral Professionals of Trinidad and Tobago (AFPTT), pointed fingers at cost-cutting measures implemented in hospitals and the Forensic Science Centre. He argues that these financial pressures have relegated the handling of deceased persons to a minimal budget item, compromising the dignity afforded to the departed. Keith Belgrove, president of the AFPTT, corroborated these concerns, noting that hospitals are opting for the lowest tenders, which may not adequately cover the costs of a dignified service.

cost-cutting measures within hospitals and other State institutions, such as the Forensic Science Centre, have reduced the handling of deceased persons to “the smallest part of the budget”.

— David SimpsonExplaining how financial pressures have impacted the budget for handling deceased individuals.

Furthermore, Belgrove stressed the legal obligations of hospitals and Regional Health Authorities (RHAs) to conduct due diligence, ensuring that contracted funeral homes possess the necessary facilities, expertise, and manpower to comply with the Burial Grounds Act. While the law permits mass graves, it mandates that each coffin must be handled with propriety and dignity. The police have launched an investigation, and while funeral professionals believe no crime was committed under the Cemetery Act as the burial was not completed, the incident has undoubtedly exposed deep systemic flaws in how we manage the final disposition of our citizens.

hospitals have been selecting the lowest tenders, “and as such the fees may not be allowing the provider to provide a service of dignity”.

— Keith BelgroveCriticizing the practice of selecting low-cost tenders, which may compromise the dignity of funeral services.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Trinidad Express in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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