Funeral plot twist – PJ shop is not a funeral parlour, clarifies owner

PETALING JAYA (June 11): The Trinity Casket shop in Section 22 here has refuted claims by local residents that it is operating a funeral parlour, reported The Star.

Dominic Savio Jude who runs the business said the shop only serves as a retail space for caskets and urns, and does not conduct funeral rites, wake services or embalm bodies.

“I have submitted a licence application to Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to run a coffin shop. It was sent about a week before a group of MBPJ officers from six departments visited the shop,” he said.

According to Dominic, he expects to know the status of his application by this week and will not begin operations until it has received its licence.

The businessman runs Trinity Casket while his father Jude Anthony runs Trinity Funeral Services.

“We wanted the Section 22 shop to be discreet due to the nature of the business.

“We unload coffins and equipment through the shop’s back, partly because of the sensitivity of the business but also because the road in front is too narrow for lorries to manoeuvre.

“It only has wooden caskets with cosmetic trimmings made from plastic, while the urns are made from materials like onyx and marble,” he said.

He also stressed that the shop did not pose any health risks.

He explained that the reason why items were only moved in at night – which aroused the suspicions of residents in the area – was because they had to conduct funeral services and rites at home or in churches, and visit hospitals or attend to their customers in the daytime.

“So, we only have time to handle paperwork and unloading work at night,” said Jude.

He encouraged residents to make an appointment with them to put their concerns to rest.