Two men in South China's Guangxi Province who have dug up a grave and stolen the bones are found to have done this to earn the favour of the deceased person's descendant when they "help" him recover the bones. Photo: VCG

Two men in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region who had dug up a grave and stolen the bones were found to have done this to earn the favour of the deceased person's descendant when they "helped" him recover the bones, local media reported on Monday.

The carefully crafted plan started in 2018 when a villager, surnamed Wang, who is a self-proclaimed fengshui master, first came up with the plan to cheat a local government official, surnamed Wei. The official had earlier refused to accept a bribe from Wang on an issue he wanted help with.

Wang, along with another man in the village of Baise, stole the bones of Wei's grandparents and father-in-law after digging up their graves and hid them in a secret cave. They then waited for Wei to discover what happened and turn to him for help to find the lost bones. 

But before Wang's plan succeeded, his accomplice confessed to the police and sent him to the police as well. The stolen bones have already been retrieved.