Relative refuses to hand over burial order

Rasbert Turner, Star Writer

A burial was delayed for several hours yesterday after a relative of the deceased man reportedly hid the burial order from the wife of the deceased.

Chaos reigned following the funeral service of Gregory Park, St Catherine resident, Oneil 'Pucker' Wright, as mourners waited for hours for the burial order to be handed over so the hearse could transport the body to the cemetery.

When The Star went to the Gregory Park Seventh Day Adventist in Christian Pen, St Catherine shortly after 3 p.m., the hearse and carriage from Perry's Funeral Service were still parked in the sun despite the funeral service ending more than two hours earlier.

Patricia Allen-Wright, the deceased man's widow, said a relative of the deceased should have handed over the burial order but had not, hence the body could not be taken to the Dovecot cemetery for burial.

"I cannot believe that 14 years with four pickney fi him could bring so much problem, dis is real sad," Wright said.

The frustrated mourners poured out of the church compound and flooded the street, forcing a passing police convoy from the Caymanas Gardens Police Station to intervene.

"We were returning from an assignment when we saw a crowd blocking the road and they said a relative of the deceased hid the burial order," a senior officer told THE STAR. He said the police went to the relative's home and spoke with the person accused of having the document. The burial order was later retrieved and the deceased transported to the cemetery.

The body of Wright, who was 49, was eventually buried about 4:25 p.m.