Son apologizes for school funeral
Source: Xinhua |
March 10, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ONE of the sons who paid a school in Zhejiang Province to host a luxury funeral for their mother on its premises apologized in an interview yesterday.
Lin Dayu said sorry during the interview with local media outlets, saying that he did not foresee the funeral causing such a commotion.
"My father died early. It wasn't easy for my mother to raise us. I just wanted to bid a good farewell to her," said Lin, who is chairman of Zhengtian Group, an automobile and hotel company worth at least 500 million yuan (US$75.2 million).
"I didn't expect the -consequences (of the party) to be so bad," Lin claimed.
During the funeral on the playground of the Xinhe High School in Wenling City last Friday, limousines were parked, while an orchestra of 100 musicians played, with super-sized LEDs as a backdrop.
The funeral attracted nearly 10,000 people. Each person attending received cash plus two packs of pricey cigarettes as a gift.
The extravagant funeral, estimated to have cost 6 million yuan, has sparked controversy after it was held on a school day.
Lin's mother died at 82, and he and his brothers and sister organized the funeral.
"She had five sons and one daughter, and each of them paid 1 million yuan for this," said a witness.
The students' physical exercise classes were canceled on Friday and they were not allowed to set foot on the playground.
"It's very annoying. It's too noisy. We can't concentrate on our lessons," said a student.
When the funeral was being held, nearby traffic was disrupted, and policemen were sent to keep order.
According to the Zhejiang Provincial Funeral Management Regulation, funeral activities should not disturb public order and should not be held in public places, -including schools.
So far, the school president's office has been unavailable for comment.
The deputy chief of the city's education bureau, surnamed Peng, said he had not known that the school's playground would be used for the funeral ceremony.
He said a vice president at the school had been suspended over the incident, and investigations were under way.
Lin Dayu said sorry during the interview with local media outlets, saying that he did not foresee the funeral causing such a commotion.
"My father died early. It wasn't easy for my mother to raise us. I just wanted to bid a good farewell to her," said Lin, who is chairman of Zhengtian Group, an automobile and hotel company worth at least 500 million yuan (US$75.2 million).
"I didn't expect the -consequences (of the party) to be so bad," Lin claimed.
During the funeral on the playground of the Xinhe High School in Wenling City last Friday, limousines were parked, while an orchestra of 100 musicians played, with super-sized LEDs as a backdrop.
The funeral attracted nearly 10,000 people. Each person attending received cash plus two packs of pricey cigarettes as a gift.
The extravagant funeral, estimated to have cost 6 million yuan, has sparked controversy after it was held on a school day.
Lin's mother died at 82, and he and his brothers and sister organized the funeral.
"She had five sons and one daughter, and each of them paid 1 million yuan for this," said a witness.
The students' physical exercise classes were canceled on Friday and they were not allowed to set foot on the playground.
"It's very annoying. It's too noisy. We can't concentrate on our lessons," said a student.
When the funeral was being held, nearby traffic was disrupted, and policemen were sent to keep order.
According to the Zhejiang Provincial Funeral Management Regulation, funeral activities should not disturb public order and should not be held in public places, -including schools.
So far, the school president's office has been unavailable for comment.
The deputy chief of the city's education bureau, surnamed Peng, said he had not known that the school's playground would be used for the funeral ceremony.
He said a vice president at the school had been suspended over the incident, and investigations were under way.
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