A Christchurch funeral gatecrasher who hit a coffin and told the man inside to "wake up" has been taken into custody for a psychiatric assessment.
The 25-year-old man was removed from a Christchurch city cemetery by police after making threats to exhume a body.
READ: Man crashed funeral to “spread God’s words”
He was taken into custody today and referred to psychiatric emergency services for assessment, police said.
The man allegedly turned up uninvited on Wednesday to the funeral of 90-year-old Harold Ritchie, shook hands with family and friends of the deceased and then thumped on the casket and shouted "Wake up, Harold".
He later contacted the family and threatened to exhume Mr Ritchie's body, after which the family contacted police.
The grave had not been disturbed when the man was taken into custody, police said.
NZN