Man's body left to rot in storeroom
2011-10-07 09:14
Johannesburg - A hospital on the West Rand kept a man's body in a storeroom, where it was only discovered it a few days later.
The body of Sipho Jwara, 44, had started to decompose at the Randwest Care Centre in Randfontein, reports the Sowetan.
Jwara had been an in-patient at a psychiatric hospital for more than 20 years. It was unclear what caused his death.
The family were informed of his death last Friday, but when they went to the hospital they were told they couldn’t take the body as there was no doctor to sign the death certificate.
When they returned to the hospital on Monday, nurses were unable to find the body.
Another day passed before the hospital informed them that they had found the body.
A hospital spokesperson said there had been breakdown of communication between the hospital and the family, with the hospital believing the family would arrange an undertaker to collect the body.