The Qing Ming Festival this years falls on the 5th of April, but families have already begun cleaning their deceased loved ones’ tombstones earlier.
One family in Malaysia, however, took things to a drastic turn after accidentally reversing their car into a stranger’s tombstone.
Call it divine intervention or just a stroke of luck, but the tombstone didn’t sustain much damage in the accident and remained intact.
The family members of the deceased, whom the tombstone belonged to, have also chosen not to take further action against the driver who crashed into it.
The incident happened on 26 March at a cemetery in Perak, Malaysia.
Sin Chew Daily reported that the driver was trying to reverse their car at the time, but it then started slipping downhill and eventually hit the gravestone of a tomb below.
A video of the incident was posted online on Facebook, showing the back of the car sustaining damage and being badly dented in the incident.
The damaged car was seen resting stationarily on the hill’s downslope under a tree and on top of the tombstone, with the impact being so severe that the bumper also popped out from the hood of the car.
Contrastingly, the tombstone didn’t sustain much damage in the accident and remained largely intact and in good condition.
The president of the Teluk Intan Hokkien Association, Zhan Sheng Chong, confirmed the tombstone incident at the cemetery.
He shared that following the incident, the family members of the tomb occupant went to check and inspect the tombstone after the crash.
They found not much damage done to the tombstone and ultimately decided not to press further and take further action against the driver.
Zhan also urged other tomb sweepers to practice care when performing Qing Ming tomb sweeping rituals, as well as looking out for the safety of their own and others.