JOHOR BAHRU: More than 50 urns have been stolen from columbaria across Johor over the past month, leaving grieving families searching for answers.
A woman, who wished to be known only as JC, said her family has been in distress since the urn containing her father’s ashes was taken from Perpetual Memorial Park in Kulai.
She said her father died five months ago and his urn was among 22 reported stolen early this month.
“We cannot accept what has happened,” she said, adding that she and her brother have been working to gather affected families and meet memorial park management and the investigating officer to follow up on the case.
“All we want is for the ashes to be returned safely and intact, and this is non-negotiable,” she said.
The thefts are believed to involve a cross-border criminal group allegedly holding ashes for ransom, according to Malaysian media reports.
The missing urns at Perpetual Memorial Park were the first reported, followed by more than 30 urns stolen from Xiao En Memorial Park in late February.
Nilai police chief Superintendent Johari Yahya said Xiao En management received a WhatsApp message from a foreign number demanding ransom for the return of the urns.
Funeral services provider Nirvana Asia Group said in a statement last week that its facilities had been targeted but did not disclose details on the timing, locations or number of urns involved.
It also did not state whether any ransom had been paid.
Federation of Chinese Cemetery Associations Malaysia chairman Lee Koon Lam said the thefts appeared to be an inside job.
“It is not easy to remove urns from a columbarium, as there are locks, access points and controlled movement involved,” he said, adding that such acts would be difficult without assistance from staff.
The cases are under investigation by Malaysia’s Federal Criminal Investigation Department.
