Beijing, Nov 20 (IANS): A Chinese baby that had been declared dead by a hospital was saved from cremation when it started crying at a funeral parlour in China's Anhui province Wednesday.

The baby boy, less than a month old, was sent back immediately to the Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital for emergency treatment after he was found to be alive by a staffer of the funeral parlour in Hefei, the provincial capital, Xinhua reported.

The hospital had earlier issued a death certificate for the boy. He would have been cremated under normal procedures, according to the Hefei Municipal Funeral Parlour.

The baby had suffered from congenital respiratory system malformation since birth and was critically ill. His parents agreed Nov 12 to stop his medical treatment, according to a hospital staffer.

"Because the baby still had life signs, we continued to give him transfusion to maintain his life for humanitarian reasons," the staff member said on condition of anonymity.

The reasons for the baby being mistakenly confirmed dead need further scrutiny, according to the staff member.

The baby is still receiving emergency treatment at the hospital.

A doctor and a nursing worker who were on duty Wednesday were judged responsible for the accident and were suspended and laid off respectively, according to the hospital.

It is investigating the case and said it would release the results to the public in time.