Rug, Body Stolen in
Moldova
11:50 AM ET 12/07/99
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) - Thieves who made
off with a rug reportedly got more than they bargained for:
They also ended up with the body of a Moldovan woman.
The incident happened after two
impoverished Moldovan cousins bundled up their grandmother's
corpse in a rug because they couldn't afford a coffin, the
daily Observator reported. The men strapped the body to the
top of their car and headed south from Ukraine to bury her
in northern Moldova, the paper reported. En route, they
stopped to eat in the Ukrainian town of Spikovo, 190 miles
northwest of Kiev.
When they left the restaurant, they
discovered that the rug and the grandmother's body were
missing, the newspaper said. The two men notified Ukrainian
police and returned to Moldova, performing a burial service
without the body. In impoverished Moldova, the cost of an
average burial is about $135, but the average monthly salary
is only $23.
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