The bodies of three Bangladeshis preserved in Brunei’s Repas Hospital have been sent to the country. The bodies of two of them were kept in the morgue of Ripas Hospital for more than two years. The hospital authorities were not releasing their bodies due to outstanding medical bills.
The bodies of these Bangladeshis were sent to the country in two stages on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Bangladesh High Commission in Brunei says that among the three Bangladeshis, the bodies of Shipon (Upazila: Gournadi, District: Barisal) and Mosharraf Hossain (Upazila: Shibpur, District: Narsingdi) were sent to the country last Wednesday with the funding of the allocation sent by the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment.
Apart from this, the body of Suman Khan (Jhalkathi Sadar) was sent home on Thursday through money collected from Bangladeshi businessmen and community members in Brunei.
According to the sources of Bangladesh High Commission, the bodies of Shipon and Mosharraf were kept in the morgue of Ripas Hospital for more than 2 years. According to the normal rules, if an employee dies while working abroad or is sick or injured, the relevant company arranges to send the body to the country along with medical treatment if necessary through appropriate insurance. However, in this case none of the above persons were legally residing in Brunei at the time of death.
As a result, it was not possible to properly communicate with any organization to send their bodies to the country. In particular, Shipon was under treatment in the hospital before his death, where the bill of 18 thousand 411 Brunei dollars (about 15 lakh rupees) was due. As there is an obligation to pay this amount before sending the body, the concerned institution was repeatedly contacted but no solution was found.
Later, with the efforts of the High Commissioner, the Brunei government waived the money and in view of the Bangladesh High Commission’s demand, it was possible to send the body to Bangladesh with the allocation money sent by the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Foreign Employment.
Nahida Rahman Sumna, High Commissioner of Bangladesh appointed to Brunei, said that the Bangladesh government is always determined to ensure the welfare of Bangladeshis living abroad.
The High Commissioner sought forgiveness for the departed souls of the three Bangladeshis. He called upon all the expatriate workers and Bangladeshi businessmen to stay in the diaspora legally with respect by ensuring insurance and approved visas as per the rules of the respective countries.
NI/NF
