Mourners in Ghana were stunned Saturday when morgue attendants opened the coffin and confiscated the corpse before it could be interred. The incident allegedly arose after the family of the deceased failed to pay mortuary service fees.

Video of the incident shows two men opening the coffin at a cemetery in Accra, southern Ghana, before walking away with the corpse hoisted over their shoulders, all while reportedly watched by the deceased’s family and sympathizers.

The men, reported to be morgue attendants, acted after the family of the deceased had removed his corpse from the mortuary after failing to pay a fee of 40 Ghanian cedi (US$9.10) in fees.

According to local reports, the situation was resolved by “family elders in the company of some friends” who intervened, allowing the burial to continue.

“I have spoken to the mortuary man; he is a disciplined person; it was a private job which has nothing to do with the hospital,” Dr. Adusei Poku, medical director for the hospital involved, told Accra-based Adom FM.

Poku defended the mortuary attendants, saying it was within their rights to confiscate the corpse and that the family should have let them know they were having difficulty paying instead of taking the corpse themselves.

A statement from the hospital asked the public to “honor and respect agreements made between parties be it official or unofficial.”