The ashes of the late Hong Kong pop diva Anita Mui have been confirmed stolen. It has been nearly three months since they went missing as of October 10, 2026, and they have yet to be recovered.
On the evening of October 10, the International Anita Mui Fans Club posted a plea for help, stating that a fan who visited the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island on July 18 this year discovered that the plaque of Anita Mui’s ashes was loose. Upon opening it, they were shocked to find that the urn containing her ashes was nowhere to be seen. After notifying Anita Mui’s family, the authorities were immediately alerted, but three months later, there has been no progress in the recovery.
Anita Mui passed away on December 30, 2003, at the age of 40. According to Hong Kong media reports, in order to protect her daughter’s remains from disturbance, Anita Mui’s mother had kept the location of her ashes extremely confidential. At the time, her ashes were placed in the Hai Hui Pagoda at the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, without any photos or the use of her legal name “Anita Mui,” but only inscribed with her childhood nickname “Guangdong Taishan Pearl Maiden Shrine.” Unfortunately, this secrecy did not prevent thieves from targeting her.
Following the incident, the family immediately reported the theft to the police, but after three months of investigation by the Lantau Island Regional Crime Unit, there have been no significant leads. The consecutive blows of Anita Mui’s passing and the recent death of her mother Tam Mei-kam on August 30, 2026, have left the Mui family emotionally drained. Anita Mui’s brother, Mui Kai-ming, expressed shock and anger in an interview, stating that he had no prior knowledge of the situation.
In recent years, Hong Kong has witnessed a series of thefts targeting the ashes of celebrities and wealthy individuals, suspected to be orchestrated by transnational criminal groups. Thieves often use professional methods to pry open urns, take the ashes, then restore the exterior to avoid detection during routine checks, before hiding the ashes in nearby mountains and demanding a hefty ransom from the families.
According to reports, between May and August of 2025 alone, several similar incidents occurred at the Precious Blessings Mountain in Shatin. The ashes of renowned martial arts instructor Lau Kar-leung, film producer Raymond Wong, and the founder of Precious Blessings Mountain, Fung Sing, were all stolen. Thieves demanded up to 60 million HKD from Lau Kar-leung’s widow, Emily Ng, but her resolute response was: “I won’t give a single cent, not even 6 dollars, to the criminals!” She emphasized her refusal to compromise with wrongdoers, rather choosing to use the money to help the living.
Despite various threats, Emily Ng remained steadfast, boldly stating that even if she retrieved the ashes, she would scatter them at sea to prevent the possibility of future thefts. On February 14 of this year, in a YouTube video titled “The Dangerous Figures 2.0,” Emily Ng revealed that the ashes of Lau Kar-leung and Raymond Wong had been recovered. She had already received her late husband’s ashes and removed his urn’s stone tablet, planning to scatter the ashes and donate all proceeds from the sale of the niche.
Currently, Anita Mui’s family is publicly appealing for anyone who visited the Hai Hui Pagoda or Po Lin Monastery from early January to mid-July of this year to come forward if they witnessed any suspicious individuals or people carrying vessels resembling urns. Additionally, they are asking anyone who drove to the related locations before July 18 to provide their dashcam footage to help clarify the disappearance and hopefully locate Anita Mui’s ashes, allowing her to rest in peace once more.