KIDNAPPED: Gangs are suspected of killing the elderly and selling their bodies

The bereaved in southern China are buying substitute bodies for the cremation and secretly burying their dead relatives, according to press reports.

Cremation is promoted as hygienic and space-saving, and in some regions it is obligatory.

However, many believe if a body is burnt the spirit will be angry and misfortune will befall descendants. If it has the proper rites the spirit is content in the next world and protects relatives.

Although nationwide only one per cent of the population is cremated, in the county of Jieyang in Canton, where it is mandatory, the figure is 100 per cent.

The sinister theory is emerging that many of the bodies are elderly people living alone who have been snatched and murdered.

Several gangs are reported to be involved in the trade of substitute corpses, charging 10,000 yuan (almost £1,000).