#SHOWBIZ: Tam Mei Kam, mother of late Cantopop icon Anita Mui, dies at 102

Hong Kong: The 102-year-old mother of late Cantopop icon Anita Mui, Tam Mei Kam, died on Sunday (Aug 30) after choking on food, according to emergency services. Paramedics found her unconscious following a report at 10:48am at a residence on Leighton Road. She was transported to Ruttonjee Hospital in Wan Chai, where medical personnel pronounced her dead.

Police are now investigating the cause of death. Tam had become reclusive after her 100th birthday two years ago, making her final public appearance in a video message to Anita Mui's international fan club during Chinese New Year in February. After Anita's passing from cervical cancer in 2003, Tam's life was marred by lengthy legal battles and conflicts with her surviving son, Peter Mui.

She was a mother of four, but tragedy continued to strike the family, with her daughter Ann dying of uterine cancer in 2000 and her son Tak Ming succumbing to throat cancer in 2015. Despite Anita's last wishes for a monthly allowance of HK$70,000, Tam engaged in numerous legal disputes over the estate, leading to bankruptcy and financial hardship.

Her bankruptcy filings in 2012, 2017, and 2024 further strained her financial situation. Family tensions peaked in 2022 when Peter sued the production company behind the biopic "Anita" (2021) for trademark infringement, resulting in a public feud between mother and son. Tam formally disowned Peter, who later remarried in 2025 and expressed a desire to reconcile, but Tam severed all contact due to his actions.