BEIJING, Dec 9 — A Chinese woman who survived being pushed off a 34-metre cliff in Thailand by her husband now faces a legal struggle to end her marriage. He is demanding 30 million yuan (RM18.2 million) for a divorce.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), five years after the murder attempt, the husband, Yu Xiaodong, 38, has insisted he deserved to be compensated for his “emotional and youth loss”.
To complicate the case further is his imprisonment in Thailand, hindering Chinese legal proceedings. Yu was sentenced to 33 years and four months in a Thai prison after a third hearing in June last year.
The victim, Wang Nan, 37, known online as Wang Nuannuan, sustained severe injuries in the 2019 attack at a Thai national park while she was pregnant.
The fall left her with 17 bone fractures, extensive surgeries requiring over 100 steel pins and 200 stitches, and the tragic loss of her unborn child.
Despite the attack, Wang recently revealed that her marriage to Yu remains legally binding due to difficulties in obtaining a divorce. She shared during a live-stream that Yu and his mother justified the 30 million yuan claim as compensation for his alleged “mental suffering”.
“Yu and his mother argue that the sum is meant to compensate for his mental suffering. His mother even blamed me, saying, ‘If your business hadn’t been so successful, it wouldn’t have tempted my son to make this mistake,’” Wang was quoted as saying.
In September, Wang shared the news of her son’s birth, conceived through in vitro fertilisation (IVF). However, she explained that as she is still legally married to Yu, he must be named as the father of the child.
In an interview with SCMP, Zhang Yongquan, a former prosecutor and current partner at Grandall Law Firm, described Wang’s case as a “dead end” and an “unsolvable situation”.
Zhang pointed out significant hurdles, such as China’s marital law, which mandates that both parties must appear in court in person, and the difficulties posed by cross-border imprisonment on legal proceedings.
“Every court session requires the physical presence of the parties involved. If one spouse is incarcerated, it may necessitate a local lawyer or notary visiting the prison for notarisation. The relevant legal documents would then need to be sent to the Chinese court via diplomatic channels,” he was quoted as saying.
He also told the Post that some judges may visit prisons to hold hearings, as many prisons have designated courtrooms. However, he pointed out that this method is not practical for foreign prisons due to the high costs and concerns over judicial sovereignty.
Wang’s ongoing legal struggle has sparked widespread debate on Chinese social media. One user commented, “Asking for compensation after attempting murder? How can someone be so shameless?”
Another added: “The law needs reform! Victims shouldn’t suffer further from legal loopholes. If a spouse commits a serious crime like attempted murder, courts should expedite the divorce without requiring the perpetrator’s consent.”
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