KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — Home Minister Senator Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said authorities were negligent in the case of an Indian family that was told their son had died in prison and given another person’s body they nearly cremated.

The minister told Parliament that a special task force would investigate the matter in which the Prison Department called the family, as they were preparing for the cremation, that their son was alive and well.

He also said that he will pay for the over RM20,000 the family incurred for the cremation that did not take place.

“I admit there was an element of negligence and weakness in the system.

“That's why we immediately direct the establishment of an investigation committee immediately and my instruction is that there should not be any compromise regarding the aspect of negligence.

“We will always take steps to improve, is the existing system inadequate from the point of view of the identification process. If we need to explore other ideas, we are open,” he said in Parliament today.

In response to Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran who asked about the funeral expenses the family had incurred, the minister said he would reimburse them within 48 hours.

Yesterday, it was reported that a Tampin family was shocked to learn that son was alive as they were preparing to cremate what they thought was his body.

The funeral held on Sunday at Taman Desa Permai was indefinitely postponed when a phone call from the Prisons Department revealed that they had mixed up their son for a cellmate.

The father was told by the Prisons Department that his son had died in Sungai Buloh Prison last Thursday, New Straits Times reported.

The 45-year-old found out that his son, who he believed was living in Selayang, was remanded at the Sungai Buloh Prison on February 28 for an undisclosed offence.