Chinese woman sues husband’s girlfriend, demands return of over 3.79 million yuan (P31M) shared property

Remember the adage "What goes around comes around?"

That's exactly what the wife of a cheating husband proved when she filed a lawsuit against his mistress, demanding the woman return the money her husband gave her since the affair started.

South China Morning Post reported that People's Court of Zhuanghe in Liaoning, China has ordered the married man's girlfriend to return the 3.79 million yuan (P31 million) he provided her over 14 years.

The wife, whose surname is Li, has been married to her husband Wang since 1991. Seventeen years later, in 2008, Wang had an affair with the other woman (pseudonym Xiaoxia).

According to the court, Wang remitted 1.47 million yuan (P12.1 million) to Xiaoxia between 2013 and 2020. Wang also bought her two apartments worth 1.45 million yuan (P12 million) and a car for 870,000 yuan (P7 million). 

Xi came to know about the extramarital affair in 2020, when she discovered Wang's hidden bank transactions with the other woman. The husband later revealed that they also have a 10-year-old son.

In the court's ruling, the assets acquired during a marriage belong to both partners so that neither can spend the couple's joint property without the other's consent. In this couple's case, their money and properties still belong to Xi, the legal wife.

Thus, the law does not protect Wang's illicit affair with Xiaoxia and is "against public customs." Hence, the court ordered Xiaoxia to return the money to Xi immediately. 

Xiaoxia said she was also a victim because Wang didn't tell her he was still married. She wanted to register the union officially, but he kept making excuses.  

The issue has sparked widespread interest in China, where it is uncommon for women to retrieve assets given to extramarital partners because of lack of proof or understanding of their legal rights.