Avseco unable to find any record of incident, pledges further checks
DANNY.LEE@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Friday, 08 April, 2016, 1:38pm
David (left) and Marco Bulmer-Rizzi were on their honeymoon in Adelaide. Photo: Facebook
Hong Kong’s airport security operator has pledged to thoroughly investigate an incident after a passenger claimed officers seized his late husband’s ashes.
Digital news site Buzzfeed on Thursday published a story recounting how British traveller Marco Bulmer-Rizzi saw airport officials take his deceased husband’s ashes because they did not recognise his same-sex marriage when he passed through the city while flying from Australia to Europe.
Bulmer-Rizzi earlier made headlines after Australia refused to recognise the couple’s same-sex marriage, which meant the death certificate said his partner David was never married. The issue led to an official apology by the premier of South Australia, who promised to change the law.
A spokesman for aviation security firm Avseco said it found no record of the incident that reportedly took place between January 21 and 27. The company believes there was a “miscommunication” and “misunderstanding” between airport staff and Bulmer-Rizzi.
“I think it is very likely a misunderstanding. Like how sometimes there is a language barrier between officers and passengers,” the spokesman said.
“We need to conduct an investigation into really what happened. But according to our records, according to information provided by Buzzfeed yesterday, we cannot identify the incident ... and cannot prove anything,” he added.
The company did initial checks by asking security managers overseeing the departure and transfer passenger screening divisions to trace the incident, but no record was found.
Asked about the issue of same-sex marriages not being recognised, the spokesman said: “We do not question the relationship in these cases. Ashes are carried by family members, assistants or friends. It’s not our duty to question ... The main documentation concerned is the death certificate and the certificate to show these are human remains.”
Avseco said it would like Bulmer-Rizzi to come forward and identify which security checkpoint he passed through and provide his flight number in order to narrow down when the incident occurred and which officer was involved.
The security operator also said it would request that the Airport Authority secure CCTV footage of the alleged incident. Buzzfeed was said to have provided only the passenger’s name, the date, and the passenger’s side of the story.
Under normal procedures, no human ashes will be X-rayed or swiped for explosives as long as passengers have the correct documentation and declare the remains in advance of the screening.
If there are no proper records, staff will use a stick and swipe for explosives. Avseco believes this could have contributed to the confusion, with Bulmer-Rizzi possibly misinterpreting the explosives check for confiscation.
Avseco stressed it would “definitely” not open a box if the passenger claimed it contained human remains.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education-community/article/1934645/security-firm-investigates-gay-britons-claim-late
