Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Pop star Anita Mui's brother rushed to hospital after arson attack on flat
CLIFFORD LO
Prev. Story Next Story The elder brother of late pop superstar Anita Mui Yim-fong was recovering in hospital last night after an arson attack on his Causeway Bay apartment.
Mui Kai-ming, 54, was found unconscious in his bedroom when firefighters broke into the burning unit and rescued him yesterday.
He was admitted to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, where he was in a stable condition last night.
Four fire engines and an ambulance attended the blaze in the third-floor unit of Po Ming Building in Foo Ming Street, opposite Lee Theatre Plaza, at 2am.
A neighbour saw smoke coming from the unit and alerted a security guard who called the emergency services, police said.
About a dozen of residents fled the building before firefighters arrived.
"Firemen broke through the main door and rescued the man from a bedroom. He was unconscious," a police spokesman said.
The fire was put out about half an hour later.
The spokesman said initial investigations showed the blaze was suspicious and the case had been clbuttified as arson.
"The living room was burned. There was a strong smell of kerosene and newspapers soaked in kerosene were found inside the living room," he said.
He added that a glbutt bottle containing a flammable solution was found at the scene.
Mr Mui's mother, Tam Mei-kam, speaking after visiting her son in hospital, said that he had not had any disputes with anyone. Her son did not have any financial difficulties, Mrs Mui added.
"The blaze started in the unit's living room, near the front door, and the flat was locked from inside at the time of the incident," a police source said.
"We need to talk with the victim to find out what had happened and how the fire started. But he was unfit to be interviewed."
The officer said the victim suffered no apparent injuries but was probably overcome by dense smoke.
Last night, detectives from Wan Chai police station were investigating the case. No one was arrested.
Anita Mui, who died of cervical cancer in 2003 aged 40, left most of her money to charity.
Mrs Mui launched a legal battle in 2004 after apparently being cut out of her daughter's estate in a will said to have been made less than a month before the singer died. A new trustee was appointed after a private court hearing in July. The size of the estate has never been disclosed
In August last year, Mrs Mui and her son had alleged that the singer's friends plotted to steal the money and organised a signature campaign over the estate at the Star Ferry pier in Central.
