People have been preying on burial spots in the May Pen Cemetery offering already used spaces for sale.


Graves without coffins but containing skulls and bones were seen strewn all across the ground.

The Kingston and St Andrew Corporation and the police say they are not familiar with the situation. however, residents from surrounding communities say that the cemetery has become fair game for a number of people who make big bucks from the 'recycling' of burial spots.

These persons charge at least $4,000 or as much as $8,000 for an already used spot. These prices are much cheaper compared with the cost of burial spots offered by funeral homes which cost anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000.

At least a dozen reused spots were pointed out in only a relatively small section of the burial ground.

Noticeably, there was also evidence of recently used cement around the spots, a clear reflection of the exploits. The used spots were dug up and the contents removed.

COFFINS AS SCRAP METAL

Coffins are still a good source of scrap metal.
"A big business ya now eno and time hard so a dis a di new hustle," Dane Gregory, 52, from the nearby Denham Town community said.

A Tivoli Gardens' resident said: "Dem brave still, more time mi wonda if dem nuh fraid a duppy ... den again, everybody haffi live, an a eat dem a try eat a food still."

Though they were reluctant to identify anyone involved in the practice, residents said the activities are no secret. "A nuh really nuttin weh a hide still, yu jus come at a bad time ... cause if yu did a look a spot fi buy, mi sure somebody woulda a set a link fi yuh ..." Kevin, another resident of Denham Town ,said.

The search for a burial spot to recycle is not restricted by time or day. "All time a day, all hours a night yu si dem either a go ova deh or ova deh already ... .

when yu si dem, dem have shovel, pick axe and dem wheelbarrow," a resident claimed.