Funeral Parlours Regulation
[1 June 1982] L.N. 177 of 1982
(Format changes—E.R. 4 of 2020)
(Repealed 78 of 1999 s. 7)
(Repealed 78 of 1999 s. 7)
In this Regulation, unless the context otherwise requires— (10 of 1986 s. 32(2); 78 of 1999 s. 7)
body (遺體) 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; burial (埋葬) includes cremation; Director (署長) means the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene; (78 of 1999 s. 7) funeral parlour (殯儀館) means a mortuary, but does not include— (a)any place set apart under the provisions of the Coroners Ordinance (Cap. 504) for the reception of dead bodies for the purpose of post mortem examination; (27 of 1997 s. 66) (b)any mortuary situated within the precincts of any hospital or similar institution which is maintained or controlled by the Government, by the University of Hong Kong provided for by the University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1053) or by The Chinese University of Hong Kong provided for by The Chinese University of Hong Kong Ordinance (Cap. 1109); (78 of 1999 s. 7; 2 of 2012 s. 3) (ba)any mortuary situated within the precincts of a military hospital; (2 of 2012 s. 3) (c)any mortuary situated within the precincts of—(i)a hospital within the meaning of the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 633) for which a licence under that Ordinance is in force;(ii)a scheduled nursing home within the meaning of the Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Cap. 633) for which an exemption granted under section 128 of that Ordinance is in force; or(iii)a nursing home within the meaning of the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance (Cap. 459) for which a licence under that Ordinance is in force; (34 of 2018 s. 154 and E.R. 5 of 2018) (d)any mortuary which is designated as a public funeral hall under section 123A; (e)the Tung Wah Hospital Repository situated at Sandy Bay, Hong Kong; or (78 of 1999 s. 7) (f)any place set apart for the purpose of washing dead bodies in accordance with Islamic rites, prior to burial, at—(i)the Masjid Ammar and Osman Ramju Sadick Islam Centre at 40, Oi Kwan Road, Hong Kong;(ii)the Muslim Cemetery, Cape Collinson, Hong Kong; or(iii)the Muslim Cemetery, Happy Valley, Hong Kong; (78 of 1999 s. 7) quarantinable disease (疫症) has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(1) of the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 141)*.Save under and in accordance with a licence granted by the Director, no person shall carry on the business of a funeral parlour. (10 of 1986 s. 32(2))
Every such licence shall be valid for a period of 1 year from the date of issue.
The grant or renewal of any such licence shall be subject to the payment in advance to the Director of the prescribed fee. (L.N. 212 of 1983; 10 of 1986 s. 32(2); L.N. 99 of 1989; L.N. 61 of 1993; L.N. 144 of 1994; L.N. 87 of 1995)
Where the Director is satisfied that any such licence has been lost or destroyed, he may, upon payment of the prescribed fee, issue a duplicate thereof. (L.N. 61 of 1993; L.N. 144 of 1994; L.N. 87 of 1995)
The Director may refuse to grant or renew a licence, or may revoke a licence granted, to a person if he is under the age of 18 years or if, in the opinion of the Director, such refusal or revocation is in the public interest.
The licensee of every funeral parlour shall cause his name and the words “Funeral Parlour” to be posted, in English lettering and Chinese characters not less than 100 mm in height, in a conspicuous place on the outside wall or door of the premises to which his licence relates.
The following provisions shall apply to every funeral parlour—
every part of the premises shall be adequately lighted and ventilated to the satisfaction of the Director, either by natural means or mechanical means or partly by natural means and partly by mechanical means; (10 of 1986 s. 32(2); 78 of 1999 s. 7)
no part of the premises shall have direct access to any premises used for domestic purposes or to any premises not wholly concerned with and used for the purposes of the funeral parlour; and
not less than one room shall be used exclusively for the purpose of embalming any body or preparing any body for burial, encoffining or cremation, and every such room shall comply with the following requirements—
a rectangular area of floor space, not less than 3 m × 4.5 m, shall be provided for each embalming or preparation table installed in the room; (E.R. 4 of 2020)
the floor shall be surfaced with smooth non- absorbent material and the junction between the walls and the floor shall be coved;
the floor shall be laid with proper falls so that liquid may drain towards one or more vents in the walls of the room, and each such vent shall be so constructed as to discharge by way of a covered surface channel or waste pipe into one or more trapped gullies situated in the open air and within the curtilage of the funeral parlour and shall, at all times, be protected by a removable grating;
the internal surface of the walls shall be tiled or faced with smooth impervious material to a height of not less than 2 m;
ventilation of the room in compliance with paragraph (a) shall be by a separate system of ventilation which has direct access to the open air and does not connect with or give or have access to any room in, or the means of ventilation of any other part of, the premises;
no window shall open, and no exhaust fan shall discharge, otherwise than directly into the open air at a height above ground level of not less than 2 m and so as to ensure that no nuisance is caused to any neighbouring or adjoining premises or in any public place;
every door shall be fitted with a self-closing device and screened or otherwise rendered fly-proof, and every window shall be screened or otherwise rendered fly-proof;
every door opening into any part of the premises to which the public have access shall be clearly marked on the outside in English and Chinese—“
不准進入”;
not less than one embalming or preparation table shall be provided therein;
the surface of every embalming or preparation table shall be not less than 2 100 mm × 750 mm, and every such table shall be so sited in the room as to leave an unobstructed space of not less than 600 mm on every side thereof; (E.R. 4 of 2020)
every such table shall be constructed of or lined with smooth impervious material and shall be fitted with a raised edge on every side not less than 50 mm in height, and the whole table shall slope towards one end so as to drain any liquid falling thereon towards a waste pipe or channel so constructed as to lead into vents required by the provisions of subparagraph (iii) to be provided; (78 of 1999 s. 7)
in respect of each such table, there shall be provided one washhand basin of glazed stone ware, which shall be supplied with water from the public mains or from such other source as the Director may approve and drain either into the vents required by the provisions of subparagraph (iii) to be provided or into a trapped gully situated in the open air and within the curtilage of the funeral parlour; and (10 of 1986 s. 32(2); 78 of 1999 s. 7)
one tap therein shall be so constructed that a hose-pipe may be fitted thereto so as to enable every part of the room to be hosed down as necessary, and a hose-pipe suitable for such purpose shall be kept available at all times.
No body shall be embalmed or prepared for burial, encoffining or cremation in any funeral parlour otherwise than in a room used exclusively for such purpose.
At all times during which any body is retained in any such room, the windows thereof shall be kept fully opened and, if the room is ventilated wholly or partly by mechanical means, the ventilating system shall be kept in operation, but where an air-conditioning system is installed which services such a room, the windows thereof, shall be kept closed and the air-conditioning system shall be kept in operation.
No body in an advanced state of decomposition shall be received into any funeral parlour unless encoffined in a hermetically sealed coffin.
No body shall be retained in any funeral parlour for a longer period than 48 hours unless the same is encoffined in a hermetically sealed coffin or is embalmed.
Save with the permission in writing of the Director, no body shall be retained in any funeral parlour for longer than 7 days. (10 of 1986 s. 32(2); 78 of 1999 s. 7)
Where it appears to the licensee of any funeral parlour that the body of any person who has died while suffering from any quarantinable disease has been received into such funeral parlour, he shall forthwith notify a health officer or health inspector of the fact.
No person shall handle, or carry out any process of embalming, preparing or treating, the body of any person who, to the knowledge or belief of such person, died while suffering from a quarantinable disease, unless he is wearing a rubber apron, or other protective clothing of a type approved by the Director, and rubber gloves. (10 of 1986 s. 32(2); 78 of 1999 s. 7)
Any such rubber apron, protective clothing and rubber gloves shall be disinfected immediately after the same has been used.
The licensee of any funeral parlour shall, at all times, keep the premises, including all fittings, equipment, furniture, utensils and apparatus therein, in a clean and sanitary condition to the satisfaction of the Director.
The licensee of any funeral parlour shall keep a register in English or Chinese in which he shall correctly record the following particulars—
the name and address of the deceased;
the age or approximate age of the deceased;
the sex of the deceased;
the date, place and cause of the death of the deceased;
the date on, and the time at, which the remains of the deceased were received into the funeral parlour;
the date on, and the time at, which such remains were removed from the funeral parlour;
the date and number of the death certificate and of any permit for the burial, cremation, importation into or removal from Hong Kong, as the case may be, of such remains;
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, importation into or removal from Hong Kong, as the case may be, of such remains;
the name and address of the person (if any) who has undertaken to pay the charges (if any) of the funeral parlour;
the method by which, and, as appropriate—
the cemetery and space, plot or grave number;
the crematorium; or
the location of the burial site,
where, such remains were finally disposed of after removal from the funeral parlour; and
where the deceased died from any quarantinable disease, whether or not those parts of the funeral parlour in which such remains were kept were disinfected after such remains were removed therefrom.
The licensee of a funeral parlour shall cause the register kept by him under subsection (1) to be open for inspection at all reasonable hours by any public officer authorized in writing by the Director for the purposes of this section, or any health officer, health inspector or police officer. (10 of 1986 s. 32(2); 78 of 1999 s. 7)
Any person who contravenes section 4(1) or 11(1) commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 3 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
Any licensee of a funeral parlour who contravenes section 6, 10, 12 or 13 commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 2 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
If section 7, 8, 9 or 11(2) is contravened, the licensee of the funeral parlour in relation to which the contravention occurred commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 2 and, where the offence is a continuing offence, is liable in addition to a fine of $50 for each day on which the offence continues.
(10 of 1986 s. 32(2); L.N. 295 of 1987; L.N. 177 of 1996; 78 of 1999 s. 7)
Without prejudice to the provisions of any other enactment relating to the prosecution of criminal offences and without prejudice to the powers of the Secretary for Justice in relation to the prosecution of such offences, prosecutions for an offence under any of the provisions of this Regulation may be brought in the name of the Director.