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Kota Kinabalu: A posthumous marriage of a couple deceased in a car accident was recently held in Teluk Intan, Perak, it has been reported.

The groom’s brother, Yang Jingsheng, told Sin Chew Daily it was the first held in recent years in the town.

He said a marriage proposal had been planned and they were also going to celebrate the groom’s birthday in Thailand but all this could no longer be realised.

SY Funeral and Ceremonial Services’ owner Han Cuiweng said the lovers would officially become husband and wife after the ceremony, known as "ghost marriage", which was organised in their honour. This allowed the parents of both sides to help fulfil the couple’s wish.

“I suggested to them (the parents) to hold a posthumous marriage so that the couple could be united in name," she told Sin Chew Daily. 

“After they reached an agreement, we helped arrange for Wang Seng Kong daoshi Chen Minggui to perform the ritual according to Chinese customs. Distributing chocolates at the ceremony symbolises blessings to relatives and friends.

“Posthumous marriage has been a part of Chinese history for thousands of years and the Chinese community still occasionally practises this tradition.”

South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that this 3,000-year-old ritual still exists in remote areas, especially in northern China, despite being banned by the Chinese government.

“The Chinese authorities have been making efforts to clamp down on such arrangement. Anyone who steals, rapes, or destroys a corpse can receive a prison term of up to three years,” SCMP reported.