Gay man's ashes confiscated after his widower deemed 'not next of kin'

A British man whose husband died on their honeymoon to Australia, resulting in a painful battle to be recognised on the death certificate, has told of how he also had his partner’s ashes taken from him at a Hong Kong airport, because he wasn’t considered next-of-kin.

The Australian government initially refused to recognise Marco Bulmer-Rizzi as the legal husband of David Bulmer-Rizzi, who died in January 2016 while they were in the country on honeymoon. The 32-year-old fell down a flight of stairs, fatally injuring his head.

As same sex marriage is not legal in Australia, the country deemed that Marco and David were never married. Eventually, after much public outcry, and intervention from the British High Commission, Marco was formally recognised on David’s death certificate, issued in Australia.

Now, Marco has spoken out about the further insult he suffered, after David’s ashes were confiscated from him as he passed through Hong Kong International Airport on the journey back to the UK.

Speaking to BuzzFeed, Marco said he was putting the ashes through the scanner at the airport when he was stopped.

“I was taken to one side and she said, ‘What’s in this box?’” he said. “She wanted to open the box. And I said, ‘These are human remains. It’s my husband. My husband died while we were in Australia. She just looked at me and said, ‘I need to take this away.’”

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Marcos claims he then had a meltdown. “I felt like I was losing him again,” he said. “All I wanted was to be able to travel with David’s ashes on me so he wouldn’t have to travel back by himself.”

A senior official then intervened, and Marco was able to present David’s passport, but it wasn’t enough to quell their suspicions.

“Again I was asked who the remains were and I said, ‘My husband, David.’ At that point I wanted the world to know that it was my husband. And she asked me, ‘What do you mean “your husband”?’”

He was eventually given back the ashes and allowed to continue his travel, but Marco has spoken out about the issue again, in part, because he wants to warn other same sex couples of the unexpected troubles they may run into abroad, and the lack of support in place from the UK Foreign Office.

He claims, “It came as a complete surprise to them that somebody who is in a same-sex marriage might find themselves in a position where they’re not recognised as the next of kin.”

It is understood that the UK Foreign Office has now closed some loopholes that prevented British people in some countries from being able to receive UK style death certificates, as a result of this highly publicised case.

Gay man’s ashes confiscated after his widower deemed ‘not next of kin’

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