Around 200 people seen attending funeral procession along Jalan Bukit Merah: Report

A large funeral procession took place along Jalan Bukit Merah on Tuesday (July 20), drawing the curiosity of residents and onlookers.

According to Shin Min Daily News, an estimated 200 people were seen in the procession, which took place in the afternoon in the vicinity of Blk 106, Jalan Bukit Merah.

A video taken of the procession showed several people bearing a white coffin and walking behind a white hearse. A column of mourners, most of them wearing black, followed on foot. A man carrying a camera could also be seen taking photos or videos of the event.

Reporters from the Chinese evening daily located the family of the deceased, however, they declined to be interviewed.

According to a 70-year-old neighbour, the deceased had died due to an illness. He added that he had known the deceased for about two years and the pair frequently chatted at the void deck of their HDB block.

"Even though he's not 'high-profile', maybe he had a lot of friends and connections," said the neighbour, acknowledging that many people turned up for the funeral, leading some curious residents to also venture downstairs for a look.

However, the neighbour added that the onlookers "tried to adhere to safe-distancing measures as much as possible and left after circling one round".

According to the National Environment Agency's Covid-19 guidelines, the number of attendees at wakes and funerals have to be kept to 20 or fewer at any one time during Phase 2HA and Phase 3.

Last month, the police investigated a funeral procession in Boon Lay which was attended by nearly 200 people, some of them maskless, The Straits Times reported.

The police also arrested 14 men in the group for being suspected members of an unlawful society, with investigations conducted into potential breaches of Covid-19 safe distancing measures.

candicecai@asiaone.com