Funeral parlour investigated after coffin switch

A funeral director's service is being investigated by police after a complaint from a family alleging the coffin was switched at their relative's funeral.

Blenheim's Cloudy Bay Funeral Services has also had its membership suspended from the Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand, as the organisation investigates a "serious complaint" against it.

Cloudy Bay director David Buckley said the complaint arose from a genuine accident - after a coffin was damaged - and he denied he had done any wrong.

Association president John Duncan confirmed he had received a written complaint from a Marlborough family about the actions of Mr Buckley.

The allegation was that after leaving a funeral service, the casket containing the body appeared to have been changed before it arrived at Sowman's crematorium in Blenheim, Mr Duncan said.

The family attended the crematorium with a police officer to examine the casket.

Mr Duncan said Mr Buckley had told him the original casket was damaged and he did not think it was structurally sound, so he replaced it with another casket.

Cloudy Bay's membership of the association had been suspended while the association investigated the complaint.

It did not prevent the funeral director from continuing business.

Mr Buckley said Cloudy Bay had been in business just over two years and until now had never received a complaint.

He said that before the casket was taken to the crematorium it slipped off a trolley and was damaged. He transferred the body into a new coffin which, while slightly cheaper, was a suitable coffin for cremation.

"I was deeply disturbed by the accident," Mr Buckley said. "I do have regret that an accident has happened."

He said he was complying with the investigations and accepted his membership to the FDANZ had to be suspended while the complaint was probed.

Detective Dean Schroder of Blenheim CIB confirmed a complaint had been lodged with police and was being investigated.

- NZPA