What Do We Do With The Ashes After Cremation?
In Singapore there are four main ways to handle the ashes after cremation namely:
1. Placing the ashes in a government-owned columbarium
There are three government-owned columbarium in Singapore as of this post. The government is building more but that takes time. Government-owned columbarium has different blocks for different religions and are at Mandai, Choa Chu Kang and Yishun. The one at Yishun takes the design of a temple and hence is not popular amongst the Christians and Roman Catholics. A single niche costs SGD500 while a family niche costs SGD900. You have to pay an additional SGD250 if you wish to choose the niche space. Otherwise, you would have to take whatever niche space that is allocated to you. Most people would opt to pay the extra to choose a space they want. Undoubtedly, eye level niches are the most popular. A family niche can typically take two urns, at most three. Take note that these are just the prices for the niches which are spaces to store the urns. You would still have to purchase the plague to cover the niche space. The price of the plague and urn varies depending on the material of the plague and urn chosen. The basic white marble plague and urn would typically cost SGS880. Government-owned niches are considered free hold as the government will provide an alternative space for the ashes for free or offer a sea burial for the ashes should they need the land of where the columbarium is back one day. Do note that government-owned columbaria cannot be booked in advance. You have to have the death certificate before booking can be made with the national environment agency of Singapore.
2. Placing the ashes in private columbaria
Private columbaria are can be religious like churches and temples or non-religious. They are more expensive than government-owned and are often on a limited leasehold of 50-99 years.
There are three non-religious columbaria in Singapore namely Nirvana, Woodlands Memorial and Goldhill Memorial. Nirvana is an organisation originally from Malaysia and does VIP funerals. Their funeral packages stated on their website typically starts from about SGD10,000. Their sales personnel focus mainly on the sale of the niches which can be priced at SGD9,000 to tens of thousands of dollars. They also have a space to place the ancestral tablets and prices are a few thousands for one space. According to them, their premise is built based on the principles of fengshui. Placing the ashes and tablet of the deceased at Nirvana is said to be good for both the deceased’s soul and his or her future descendants. Nirvana niches are typically leased for 99 years. In Nirvana, most rooms are for Buddhists and Taoists but there are also rooms for Free-thinkers, Christians and Roman Catholics. Each room has a different theme and color scheme. You can also buy these niches as investment akin to property. You can buy them at a lower price and then resell them at a higher price. Nirvana is currently located at Choa Chu Kang, next to the burial cemetery. There is also Lin San Temple which is supposedly managed under Nirvana that is located in Geylang. Lin San Temple has freehold niches sold at higher rates.
Woodlands Memorial has an opening special and hence its advertised rate for a niche is SGD1,888 excluding GST. The design of the niches look pretty similar to the ones in some rooms in Nirvana. The niches have a limited leasehold of 30 years.
Goldhill Memorial is situated at Tampines and when it was first opened, it was dubbed as the “conveyer belt niche” as they utilise a system similar to a conveyor belt to bring the ashes to the room of which families will be in. All the urns will be stored somewhere and retrieved by the system when the family inputs the details. The family will be assigned a room where the urn with the ashes will be brought to. A conveyor belt system makes sense in land-scarce Singapore since it helps to save space. The idea is not exactly well received at the start as Singaporeans are used to the urns being in a fixed place and not them being portable. The price for a pair of niche is SGD14,888.
3. Sea burial to disperse the ashes
Harmony Funeral Care offers 3 options for sea burial, with various types of boats and duration of the boat trip. The first option which is the cheapest and most common is the bump boat from Changi Ferry Terminal. The boat that departs form Changi seats ten persons and the boat ride is about 15 to 30 minutes. The second alternative is the boat from Marina South Pier. The boat leaving from this pier is larger in size but has the same seating capacity. The boat ride is longer, at about an hour. The most luxurious option is the private yacht option. The private yacht option takes about 2.5 hours and departure is from Sentosa. We will apply for all the needed permits and licenses and have a staff to accompany you for the entire journey.
4. Inland ash scattering
Inland ash scattering is Singapore’s form of garden scattering just that in Singapore, the ash is scattered into a drainage-like system first before being moved to the soil. The fees for inland ash scattering is done at the Garden Of Peace at Choa Chu Kang and is SGD321. The process requires the ashes to be pulverise to powder form before being placed in a canister. Some families do not quite like the idea of having the ashes pulverised. Take not that waiting time for the ashes to be pulverised is about 30 minutes to an hour. Some families do not want to go through the hassle of applying for the needed permits and of waiting for the ashes. Such families would get their funeral company to do it for them at a fee.
If you are unsure what to do with the ashes of your loved one after cremation, fret not, we will advise you on the various options available so that you can make a decision on which works best for you and your family. We also offer customised solutions where a portion of the ashes can be placed in a necklace urn as a keepsake while the remaining ashes be handled in the ways stated above. Call us now for immediate assistance.
Why choose Harmony Funeral Care?
At Harmony Funeral Care, we aim to preserve over 60 years of tradition of serving bereaved families. We take pride in providing the best support that one can find in grief and offer:
- Dedicated And Experienced Staff To Guide You
- Competitive Funeral Packages To Ensure Affordability For All
- Free Video Montage On Funeral Day
- Transparent Pricing With No Hidden Costs
Call us now at +65 9489 2424 for a non-obligatory consultation!
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A humble service done in remembrance of Mr Tee Hock Chwee, founder of Hock Hin Undertaker established since 1963
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