Section 172: Conditions of permit

172. Conditions of permit (1) No permit shall be granted for the cremation or burning of a dead body unless— (a) the person whose corpse it is intended to cremate or burn was attended during his last illness by a medical practitioner who certifies that the deceased died of natural causes; (b) there is appended to the certificate of the medical practitioner referred to in paragraph (a), 2 independent certificates signed by persons who knew the deceased testifying that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, the deceased died of natural causes. (2) (a) The application for the permit of cremation or burning shall specify— (i) the date and hour of the death; (ii) the name, sex and age of the deceased; (iii) the crematorium at which the operation is to be carried out; and (iv) where the crematorium exists, the spot chosen for the burning and its distance from the nearest inhabited locality. (b) The application shall be accompanied by any permit of burial that may have been issued. (3) Before granting a permit, the Permanent Secretary or the Sanitary Authority may require— (a) such information as he thinks necessary; (b) an autopsy to be performed by the medical practitioner who attended the deceased.