Oh.

I guess I should've checked the FAQs in the NEA website.

To answer the burning (no pun intended) question of what happens to the exhumed remains

What will happen to the exhumed remains?
The exhumed remains will be cremated.

Can the exhumed remains not be cremated but reburied?
All exhumed remains from the affected graves in Phase 1 and Phase 2(a) have to be cremated.

What will happen to unclaimed graves?
All unclaimed graves will be exhumed, and the remains cremated and kept for three years before they are scattered at sea.

No shit, Sherlock. So if my son doesn't claim me.. uh.. my "exhumed remains", then I become a pollutant.

Good grief

Just picked this off the NEA website:

"The Government announced in 1998 that the burial period for all graves at the Choa Chu Kang Cemetery (CCK) would be limited to 15 years, and existing graves that are 15 years or older would be exhumed.

With limited land available, it becomes necessary to extend the lifespan of Singapore's only cemetery currently in use to help to cater for future burials."

So "being laid to eternal rest" now means 15 years in Singapore. After which, you will be dug up and handed back, dirt, soil, mouldering bones and all, to your horrified relatives.

If this practice continues, does this mean that each new generation will have an ever increasing pile of bones to lug around?

What if no one in that family wants to be cremated? Does this mean that you're only allowed to die if and when one of your great-grandparents gets dug up?

Should there be a COE system?

I guess that answers the age-old question of how long is an eternity. At least in Singapore, eternity = 15 years. [Hey! That's shorter than some people's life sentences!]