Dead son returns and interrupts mourning rituals

A 65-year-old Taiwanese man who believed his son was dead, carried out traditional mourning rituals for 3 days until his son turned up.

TAIPEI, November 2, 2009 (AFP) - A 65-year-old Taiwanese man who believed he had seen his own son crushed under a train carried out traditional mourning rituals for three days until his son turned up unscathed, officials said Monday.

Hu Fu-chin, from Taoyuan city in northern Taiwan, told investigators he had talked to his son across a rail track late last month and subsequently seen him run over by an oncoming train, according to the local district court.

He went to the morgue where the body was kept and identified it as the remains of his son, before returning home to perform traditional Taoist rites, a court official said.

However, after three days, Hu's son turned up alive and kicking, leading the 65-year-old to the realisation that the person killed by the train must have been someone else.

"We don't know why Mr Hu claimed the victim was his son," the official told AFP.

Officials said they would now use DNA tests to identify the man who was killed.