5 officials in the dock as senior mistakenly declared dead
A funeral parlor staff moves the body bag containing the "dead" senior, as seen in this vlog shot on Sunday.
Workers open the bag for to confirm the senior's condition.
Cloth on the face of the elderly citizen is raised for confirmation.
The elderly person is taken back to the senior home.
Four officials and the director of a senior home in Putuo District have been held accountable in an incident in which a "dead" elderly citizen, who was actually alive, was transferred to a funeral parlor.
The Shanghai Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision announced on Monday afternoon that Zhang Jiandong, Party secretary and director of the Putuo District Civil Affairs Bureau, was put on record by the Party discipline committee.
Huang Yaohong, deputy director of the bureau; Liu Yinghua, director of the bureau's senior care service department; and Wu Youcheng, director of the Changzheng Town social undertakings development office, were dismissed from their posts and put on record by the Party discipline committee.
Ge Fang, director of the Xinchangzheng Senior Home, has been removed from his post as well and put on record.
The five are under further investigation, the commission revealed.
Also, the health commission of Putuo District has revoked the license of a doctor sunamed Tian who was said to be involved in the case.
Tian is under an investigation by the police.
According to a vlog shot on Sunday afternoon, the senior had already been placed inside a body bag, but an employee of the funeral parlor discovered the "deceased" was moving and still alive while moving the bag.
Staffers opened the bag and raised the cloth covering the face of the elderly person for confirmation and found the senior, a 75-year-old woman positive to COVID-19, was still breathing.
The person has been transferred to a hospital and is in stable condition.
