Hong Kong removes 10 unauthorised graves in hillside burial zones
Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and Lands Department have removed 10 unclaimed unauthorised graves or bone huts from two permitted burial areas, part of a broader crackdown on illegal hillside burials across the New Territories.
The Hong Kong government has carried out a joint enforcement and exhumation operation against unauthorised burials in hillside areas, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Lands Department announced on 11 November 2026.
On 22 and 23 September this year, the departments posted notices on 10 unapproved graves, bone huts or bone houses in two permitted burial zones, ordering those responsible to stop occupying government land and contact the authorities by 26 and 27 October respectively, or have the remains relocated to Sha Ling Cemetery. After the deadlines passed with no claimants, the government proceeded with the joint enforcement and removal.
Since 2016, the government has run a pilot management scheme in individual permitted burial zones, implementing measures tailored to local conditions. These include erecting boundary markers, surveying existing graves, setting plot size limits, and designating new burial zones within available space. The scheme now covers 15 permitted zones across all nine administrative districts of the New Territories.
Based on data from the pilot scheme, the government began phased enforcement against illegal burials in burial zones from July 2021. Beyond the latest operation, authorities plan to post notices on other unauthorised graves or bone huts before next year's Ching Ming Festival, aiming to remove unclaimed remains quickly after the deadline expires.
A government spokesman stressed that under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Chapter 28), anyone occupying government land without permission and failing to comply with a notice to vacate commits an offence. Property or structures on occupied land may be demolished and removed, and occupants may face prosecution. Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Chapter 132), burying human remains without written authority is illegal, and offenders may be criminally prosecuted while the remains are exhumed.