PUBLIC FUNERAL HALL (URBAN COUNCIL) BY-LAWS

PUBLIC FUNERAL HALL (URBAN COUNCIL) BY-LAWS

PUBLIC FUNERAL HALL (URBAN COUNCIL) BY-LAWS

ARRANGEMENT OF BY-LAWS

By-law Page

1. Citation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP2
2. Application ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP2
3. Interpretation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...---... BP2
4. Hours of opening ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 2
5. Application to use public funeral hall ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP2
6. Reception and retention of human remains ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 3
7. Production of documents for reception of human remains ... ... ... ... ... BP 3
8. Embalming or preparation of human remains ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 3
9. Use of protective clothing ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 4
10. Registers and obligation to provide information ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 4
11. Power to reject persons ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 5
12. Offences and penalties ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 5
13. Name in which proceedings.for offences may be brought ... ... ... ... ... BP 5
14. Fees ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 5

Schedule ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... BP 6





PUBLIC FUNERAL HALL (URBAN COUNCIL) BY-LAWS

(Cap. 132, sections 123 and 123C)

[31 March 1978.]

1. These by-laws may be cited as the Public Funeral Hall
(Urban Council) By-laws.

2. These by-laws apply to the Urban Council area only.

3. In these by-laws, unless the context otherwise requires-

'burial' includes cremation;

'Council' means the Urban Council;

'human remains' means the dead body or part thereof of any human
being or any still-born child, but does not include ashes resulting
from the cremation thereof.

'officer in charge' means a person appointed by the Director of
Urban Services to manage or assist in the management of a
public funeral hall;

'public funeral hall' means a mortuary designated under sec-
tion 123A;

11quarantinable disease' has the meaning assigned to it by section 2
of the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance.

4. The officer in charge of a public funeral hall may fix the
hours during which, and the days on which, it shall be available
for use by the public.

5. (1) Any person wishing to reserve the use of any of the
facilities of a public funeral hall to conduct a funeral or to conduct
a religious or commemorative meeting relating to the death of any
person shall-

(a)make prior application in writing, on an appropriate form
to be provided by the Council, to the officer in charge of
such public funeral hall specifying the purpose for which it
is required; and

(b)pay to the Council the appropriate fee prescribed in the
Schedule.

(2) Applications under paragraph (1)(a) shall be received at a
public funeral hall between such times as the officer in charge may
from time to time direct by notice posted in such public funeral hall.

(3) Upon receipt of an application under paragraph (1)(a) the
officer in charge may in his discretion reserve to the applicant the use
applied for subject to such conditions as he may think fit.





(4) The exercise of any discretion by the officer in charge
pursuant to paragraph (3) shall be subject to such directions, if any,
either general or in any particular case, as the Council may think fit
to issue.

6. (1) No person shall bring into any public funeral hall any
human remains in an advanced state of decomposition unless
encoffined in a hermetically sealed coffin.

(2) No person shall leave in any public funeral hall any human
remains for a longer period than 48 hours unless the same are
encoffined in a hermetically sealed coffin or are embalmed.

(3) Save with the permission in writing of the Director, no
person shall leave in any public funeral hall any human remains
whatsoever for longer than 7 days.

7. (1) An applicant under by-law 5(1) shall produce to the
officer in charge when any human remains are received into a public
funeral hall-

(a)in the case of interment of any human remains of a person
who has died in Hong Kong, a death certificate or a permit
of a police officer issued under the proviso to section 16(1)
of the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance; or

(b)in the case of cremation of any human remains of a person
who has died in Hong Kong, a permit granted by the
Director of Medical an Health Servicer. under by-law
5(1) of the Cremation and Gardens of Remembrance
(Urban Council) By-laws and a death certificate; or

(c)in any other case, such documents as the Council may
require.

(2) The documents specified in paragraph (1) shall be retained
by the officer in charge until the human remains are removed from
the public funeral hall for burial or other authorized disposal when
they shall be returned to the person producing them.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1) 'death certificate'
means a certificate of registration of death or a coroner's order
issued under section 17(1) of the Births and Deaths Registration
Ordinance or a certificate, declaration or coroner's order issued or
made under section 18 of the Births and Deaths Registration
Ordinance.

8. (1) No human remains shall be embalmed or prepared for
burial or encoffining in any public funeral hall otherwise than in a
room set aside exclusively for such purpose.

(2) At all times during which any human remains are retained
in any such room, the windows thereof shall be kept fully opened or,
if the room is ventilated wholly or partly by mechanical means, the
ventilating system shall be kept in operation.





9. (1) No person shall, in any public funeral hall, handle, or
carry out any process of embalming, preparing or treating, the
human remains of any person who, to the knowledge or belief of
such person or of the officer in charge, died while suffering from a
quarantinable disease, unless he is wearing a rubber apron, or other
protective clothing of a type approved by the Council, and rubber
gloves.

(2) Any such rubber apron, protective clothing and rubber
gloves and any part of a public funeral hall where those remains
were kept, embalmed, prepared or treated shall be disinfected
immediately after use.

10. (1) The officer in charge of a public funeral hall shall keep
a register in English or Chinese in which there shall be recorded the
particulars listed in paragraph (2) together with-

(a)the date on, and the time at, which any human remains
were received into the public funeral hall; and

(b)the date on, and the time at, which any human remains
were removed from the public funeral hall.

(2) An applicant under by-law 5 shall furnish to the officer in
charge of a public funeral hall the following particulars-

(a) the name and address of the applicant;
(b) the name and address of the deceased;
(c) the age or approximate age of the deceased;
(d) the sex of the deceased;

(e) the date, place and cause of death of the deceased;

the date and number of the death certificate and of any
permit for the burial, cremation, import to or removal
from Hong Kong, as the case may be, of the remains of the
deceased;

(g)the name and address of the medical practitioner (if any)
who certified as to the death of the deceased, and of the
person signing any permit for burial, cremation, import to
or removal from Hong Kong, as the case may be, of the
remains of the deceased;

(h) the method by which, and, as appropriate-
(i) the cemetery and space plot or grave number; or
(ii) the crematorium,

where, the remains of the deceased will be finally disposed
of after removal from the public funeral hall; and

i)if the deceased died while suffering from a quarantinable
disease, whether or not those parts of the public funeral
hall in which the remains of the deceased were kept were
disinfected after such remains were removed therefrom.





11. (1) The officer incharge, or any person authorized by him
in that behalf, may direct any person forthwith to leave a public
funeral hall or any part thereof---

(a)whom he has reason to believe has committed or is about
to commit an offence punishable under these by-laws; or
(b)who refuses to obey any reasonable order given by him
in furtherance of the proper management of the public
funeral hall.

(2) Any person who fails to leave a public funeral hall when so
directed by the officer in charge pursuant to paragraph (1) commits
an offence and may, in addition to any penalty to which he may
become liable, forthwith be removed from the public funeral hall
or any part thereof at the discretion of the officer in charge.

12. (1) Any person who, in any public funeral hall-

(a)sells or lets for hire, or offers or exposes for sale or letting
for hire, any article or thing without the written consent of
the Council;

(b)posts, affixes or distributes any handbill, card, circular or
advertisement of any kind whatsoever;

(c)holds, promotes or takes part in any public meeting, other
than a meeting of a religious or commemorative nature in
respect of the dead;

(d)wilfully disturbs or interferes with any funeral service or
any religious or commemorative meeting;

(e)spits, except into a receptacle provided for such purpose or
toilet, or into a channel or drain provided for the carriage
of sewage, waste water or excretal matter; or

(f)behaves in a noisy or unseemly manner or is improperly or
inadequately clad,

commits an offlence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of
$500.

(2) Any person who contravenes by-law 6(1), 6(2), 6(3), 7(1),
8(1), 8(2), 9(1), 9(2) or 10(2) commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine of $500.

13. Without prejudice to any other enactment relating to the
prosecution of criminal offences and without prejudice to the powers
of the Attorney General in relation to the prosecution of such
offences, prosecutions for an offence under any of these by-laws may
be brought in the name of the Council.

14. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), the fees listed in the seocnd
column of the Schedule shall be payable to the Council for the
appropriate services listed in the first column of the Schedule.





(2) The Council may, if it thinks fit, waive payment of the fees
listed in the second column of the Schedule or may reduce such fees
to such amount as it considers reasonable in the circumstances.

SCHEDULE [by-law 14.1

Use of one body dressing room S150 for each human remains.
Use of one reposing room $200 for each 24 hours or part
thereof.
Use of one large service hall, as shown green on a $300 for the first hour, and for
plan signed by the Secretary of the Urban each hour or part of an hour
Council and deposited in the office of the officer thereafter.
in charge where the remains of the deceased are
intended for burial
Use of one large service hall, as shown green on a $150 for the first hour, and for
plan signed by the Secretary of the Urban each hour or part of an hour
Council and deposited in the office of the officer thereafter.
in charge where the remains of the deceased are
intended for cremation
Use of one small service hall, as shown brown $200 for the first hour, and for
on a map signed by the Secretary of the Urban each hour or part of an hour
Council and deposited in the office of the officer thereafter.
in charge where the remains of the deceased are
intended for burial
Use of one small service hall, as shown brown on $100 for the first hour, and for
a map signed by the Secretary of the Urban each hour or part of an hour
Council and deposited in the office of the officer thereafter.
in charge where the remains of the deceased are
intended for cremation
L.N. 74/78. L.N. 41/80. 10 of 1986. Citation. 10 of 1986, s. 32(2). Application. 10 of 1986, s. 32(2). Interpretation. (Cap. 141.) Hours of opening. Application to use public funeral hall. Schedule. Reception and retention of human remains. Production of documents for reception of human remains. (Cap. 174.) 10 of 1986, s. 32(2). (Cap. 132, sub. leg.) (Cap. 174.) Embalming or preparation of human remains. Use of protective clothing. Registers and obligation to provide information. Power to reject persons. Offences and penalties. Name in which proceedings for offences may be brought. Fees. Schedule. L.N. 41/80.

L.N. 74/78. L.N. 41/80. 10 of 1986. Citation. 10 of 1986, s. 32(2). Application. 10 of 1986, s. 32(2). Interpretation. (Cap. 141.) Hours of opening. Application to use public funeral hall. Schedule. Reception and retention of human remains. Production of documents for reception of human remains. (Cap. 174.) 10 of 1986, s. 32(2). (Cap. 132, sub. leg.) (Cap. 174.) Embalming or preparation of human remains. Use of protective clothing. Registers and obligation to provide information. Power to reject persons. Offences and penalties. Name in which proceedings for offences may be brought. Fees. Schedule. L.N. 41/80.

https://oelawhk.lib.hku.hk/items/show/2629

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