Anita Mui’s Ashes Reported Missing from Po Lin Monastery; Investigation Ongoing

The cremated remains of late Hong Kong pop diva Anita Mui remain missing nearly three months after her family filed a police report, with investigators and temple officials continuing to dispute whether the urn was actually stolen. The disappearance at Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island has prompted an appeal from the singer’s international fan club on what would have been her 63rd birthday.

Discovery at the Sea Meeting Pagoda

According to announcements published by Anita Mui’s international fan club and reported by HK01, the urn’s disappearance came to light on July 18 when supporters visited the Sea Meeting Pagoda at Po Lin Monastery. Visitors noticed that the screws securing the niche’s doorplate had come loose. Upon inspecting the compartment, they found the container holding Mui’s ashes was gone.

The family immediately notified authorities, and the case was assigned to the Lantau District Crime Squad as a request for police assistance. As investigators approached the three-month mark with no arrests made, the family decided to go public. The disclosure coincided with a period of severe personal strain for the relatives, compounded by the late August death of Mui’s mother, Tam Mei-kam, who had originally arranged the private resting place following the singer’s death from cervical cancer in December 2003 at age 40.

Conflicting Accounts From Monks and Family

While the fan club and family maintain that the ashes were stolen, reporting by HK01 detailed skepticism from monastic staff at Po Lin Monastery. When reporters visited the Sea Meeting Pagoda, a monk suggested that the loose screws on the niche doorplate could have resulted from natural thermal expansion rather than a break-in. The monastery site features closed-circuit television cameras and regular staff patrols, and monks noted that no other niches in the building reported missing contents.

Temple records showed no entry logs indicating the niche had been opened, and the family has received no ransom demands. Police continue to investigate whether any criminal act took place.

Meanwhile, Mui’s elder brother, Mui Kai-ming, stated to reporters that he had been entirely unaware of the disappearance until contacted by the media. Admitting he had not visited the site at all this year, Mui expressed outrage over the incident and offered a HK$50,000 reward from his own funds for information leading to the recovery of his sister’s ashes. He called on anyone with knowledge of the location to return the remains without facing further repercussions.

Decades of Secrecy Surrounding the Niche

The unusual secrecy of the burial site contributed to the delayed detection of the missing urn. As detailed in reports by HK01, Mui’s mother deliberately arranged a remote location at the Sea Meeting Pagoda and omitted both photographs and the singer’s legal name from the niche. Instead, the plaque bore only her childhood nickname, “Chu Nui,” along with her ancestral hometown and dates marked by the lunar calendar.

The measures were so strict that fans spent years searching for the true resting place, initially visiting empty memorial spaces at the Po Lin Monastery main Buddha and a Kowloon Tong temple before the actual location was publicly acknowledged years later.

Appeals for Public Assistance

With the investigation remaining open, the family and fan club have urged anyone who visited the Sea Meeting Pagoda or the surrounding Po Lin Monastery grounds between January and mid-July to come forward with information. Investigators are specifically asking drivers who traveled to the area in July to check their dashcam footage for suspicious individuals carrying urn-like containers.