Beijing - A Chinese baby boy who had been
declared dead was saved from being cremated
alive when he started crying at a funeral parlour,
Chinese media reported on Thursday.
The parents of the critically-ill boy, who was less
than one month old, had agreed to end his medical
treatment at Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital in
eastern China, hospital sources told Xinhua state
news agency.
A death certificate was issued before the baby was
sent to a funeral parlour in Hefei, the provincial
capital, only for staff there to be alerted by crying
on Wednesday.
It was unclear how long he had been at the funeral
parlour, or when his cremation had been due.
The baby was immediately sent back to the
hospital, several news outlets including the Beijing
News reported on Thursday.
"Because the baby still had life signs, we continued
to give him transfusions to maintain his life for
humanitarian reasons," a hospital staff member
told Xinhua.
The baby was born with a "congenital respiratory
system malformation", the report added.
The baby was receiving treatment at the hospital
late on Wednesday, reports said.
A doctor was suspended, a nursing worker laid off
and an investigation launched into the incident, the
hospital said, according to Xinhua.
