Investigations have been launched by the police regarding the inner workings of Express Pet Cremation following multiple customers who alleged that they received sand and cement instead of the ashes of their dearly departed pets.
It was Alex Chua who got suspicious at first — the urn given to him was a “big difference” as compared to when he sent his shih tzu for cremation, he said to Channel NewsAsia.
He reportedly paid $280 to cremate his dog, but did not witness the process itself as he would have to pay an extra fee. According to Chua, the urn he received was sealed with silicon, and when he pried it open, he simply found a pack of grey powdery substance that didn’t resemble ashes or remains.
A test was conducted by the Forensic Experts Group, who found some perturbing results. Most of the substance was found to be consistent with silicate containing compounds, which are found in sand in cement. Other fragments tested were found to be consistent with hydroxyapatite (found in bone) while others were silicate containing compounds — again found in substances like sand or clay.
Chua has since lodged a police report against Express Pet Cremation, and other customers have decided to do so as well, following reports of their alleged shenanigans. Kelly Chua, who paid about $380 to cremate her Jack Russell, also pried open the urn she received and found a bag of grey-white sand-like substance. 69-year-old John De Souza, who had his two schnauzers cremated for $800, decided to also submit his dogs’ ashes for a forensic test, and intends to file a police report should the ashes turn out to be other substances.
Express Pet Cremation owner Patrick Lim strongly denied the accusations, telling unhappy customers to report their evidence to the authorities and quit tarnishing his company’s name.
Meanwhile, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore are also investigating the company, as it was not in the list of approved pet cremation service providers on pet farm land or veterinary clinics.
