Furious family members allegedly attacked an undertaker after he showed them the maggot invested body of their loved one.
Oupa Ngobeni had been in a mortuary for four days in Pretoria, South Africa before his body was taken for burial.
His family asked funeral parlour operator Solly Khoza to open his coffin which he initially refused to do.
After much insistence he opened the lid to reveal Oupa's decomposing body, with maggots crawling across his face.
According to Solly members of the dead man's family attacked him after the disturbing revelation.
Lebogang Manamela, one of Oupa's relatives, has committed to "fight" until the family are given answers as to what happened to him.
"We became a huge embarrassment to the community during the funeral," he told IOL.
Solly, who has run Love Beauty funeral parlour since 2009, has said that the body was not mistreated.
After escaping the family's clutches and requesting a police presence at Oupa's funeral, he refuted claims he was responsible for allowing the body to decompose under his care.
Solly said that the deceased suffered from an illness which caused maggots to develop in his feet prior to his death.
He added that Oupa, whose body had been kept in a mortuary fridge after he killed himself, had been diabetic and should have had his legs amputated prior to his death.
Widow Mary Phiri said her partner's body didn't have maggots when it was removed from the house and transported in a hearse to the mortuary.
Solly said: "I fail to understand why I was accused of being responsible for decomposing the deceased's body while his wife knew about his sickness."
He went on to offer an olive branch to the family.
"When you are calm, please come to the mortuary and I will see how I can compensate you," Solly added.
