Sebengwane Ngobeni, 87 from Chiawelo in Soweto was admitted to Leratong Hospital in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, last week.
When her family visited her on Saturday, she was fine.
Her grandson, Patrick Mabasa, said on Sunday two from a funeral parlour had told him his grandmother had died and he should call them to make funeral arrangements.
But after they left, he remembered that they had said his gran died at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, which was not the hospital where she had been.
They drove to Leratong Hospital and found their gran sleeping peacefully.
“The nurse told me it’s a scam funeral parlours sometimes pull. They lie and say people have died and then go to the hospital to finish them off,” he said.
Patrick then phoned the undertakers and said he wanted to make arrangements for the funeral. When he got to their place, he locked them in a room and phoned the cops.
The undertakers told the police they work with contacts in the hospital to make a “hit list” of people who are going to die.
Soweto police spokesman Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said an attempted murder case was opened and suspects are in custody.
Lawrence Konyana, president of the National Funeral Directors Association of South Africa said: “It is illegal for undertakers to inform families of a death. The hospital or police must do it.”
Gauteng Health Department spokesman, Simon Zwane said they have not had any stolen corpses at either Leratong or Chris Hani Baragwanath hospitals.
“Anyone with knowledge of the sale of corpses must inform police or hospital management. We never send an undertaker to inform a family about the death of their loved one,” he said.
- Dailysun
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