Corrupt officials in China were caught buying corpses in order to fulfill local government cremation quotas, highlighting a growing problem in how China deals with death.

It's an unintended consequence of new policies intended to encourage cremations rather than traditional burials. Government says burials use up valuable farmland in rural areas and space for development in other places.

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The new policy runs counter to traditional Chinese beliefs that bodies must remain intact for individuals to enjoy a peaceful afterlife. People even committed suicide, according to Chinese media, before new cremation regulations went into effect to ensure burial in a cemetery. Other reports say some families secretly bury their dead to circumvent the rules.

Southeastern China has become a hotbed for the grave robbing cremation set, according to state-run Xinhua News agency, and other official media. Guangxi and Guangdong provinces have been the scene of numerous reported violations of burial law and common decency, reports say.

The latest began in June when a Shizhai Village of Beiliu City resident in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region identified as Gu said his grandfather's body had disappeared from a graveyard. Police arrested the grave robber, identified only as Zhong, in July, according to reports.

Zhong said he stole more than 20 corpses after dark, stuffed them in bags and took them to Guangdong province. A government official identified as Dong paid around $490 (3,000 yuan) each for 10 corpses. Another official identified as He said he paid $250 (1,500 yuan) for up to 10 of the corpses. They told Zhong the deal had been "approved" by the government.

Local government in He and Dong's towns had instituted a monthly cremation quota based on the number of residents the previous year. Hard up for bodies, the pair turned to an emerging black market in corpses, which they passed along to a local funeral home for cremation.

TagsCremation, burial, death, funeral, Xinhua, Guangxi