A Chinese woman is locked in a bizarre and deeply unjust legal battle with her husband—five years after he tried to murder her.
The man in question, Yu Xiaodong, pushed the woman, Wang Nan, 37, off a 111-foot-high cliff in Thailand in 2019, leaving her with devastating injuries.
Now, as the convicted husband serves a 33-year prison sentence in Thailand, he is demanding 30 million yuan (more than $4 million) from Wang as a condition for divorce.
Highlights
- Wang Nan, 37, survived being pushed off a cliff by her husband while she was three months pregnant.
- The husband, Yu Xiaodong, is currently serving a 33-year prison sentence in Thailand.
- The Chinese woman said Yu is currently demanding more than $4 million as a condition for divorce.
- “Yu and his mother argue that the sum is meant to compensate for his mental suffering,” she said.
Wang Nan was pushed off a cliff by her husband, Yu Xiaodong, while they were on a trip to Thailand
Image credits: South China Morning Post / YouTube
The whopping sum of money is meant to compensate for his “emotional and youth loss,” Wang said during a recent live-streamed video.
“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,’” the survivor said during her live-stream.
The attempted murder took place on the morning of June 9, 2019, while Wang was three months pregnant.
“Go to hell,” the husband said before pushing his wife, who was three months pregnant at the time
Image credits: South China Morning Post / YouTube
The couple were atop a cliff at a Thai national park catching the sunrise, when Yu gently kissed his pregnant wife on the cheek.
“Go to hell,” he then said before pushing her off the cliff.
Wang miraculously survived the fall, but she lost her unborn child.
The Chinese woman survived the fall with multiple injuries; however, she lost her unborn child
Image credits: South China Morning Post / YouTube
Prior to the incident on the Thailand cliff, Yu had reportedly racked up a large sum of debt as a result of his gambling addiction. When he asked his wife to settle the debt of 2 million yuan (approximately $275,470), she reportedly paid half of it and then asked him to pay the rest.
Wang’s near-fatal fall resulted in severe injuries, including 17 bone fractures, extensive surgeries, and a lengthy recovery.
She tragically lost her unborn child and was told by doctors that natural conception might never be possible again. Despite this, she persevered and recently welcomed a son via IVF (in vitro fertilization), though Chinese marital law mandates that Yu be listed as the child’s father because they are still legally married.
Yu is demanding $4 million from Wang to compensate for his “emotional and youth loss” as a condition for divorce
Image credits: South China Morning Post / YouTube
Wang’s story has ignited anger on Chinese social media, with one saying: “Asking for compensation after attempting murder? How could someone be so shameless?”
“The law needs reform! Victims shouldn’t suffer further from legal loopholes,” read a second comment. “If a spouse commits a serious crime like attempted murder, courts should expedite the divorce without requiring the perpetrator’s consent.”
“The kind of parents determines the kind of son they raise,” added a third.
Zhang Yongquan, a former prosecutor and current partner at Grandall Law Firm, spoke to the South China Morning Post, calling Wang’s legal troubles a “dead-end” case.
“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,’” the survivor said
Image credits: South China Morning Post / YouTube
To divorce, Zhang said Chinese marital law requires both spouses to be present in court, but the case was complicated by Yu’s incarceration in Thailand, thus making it an “unsolvable situation.”
“Every court session requires the physical presence of the parties involved,” Zhang told the outlet. “If one spouse is incarcerated, it may necessitate a local lawyer or notary visiting the prison for notarization. The relevant legal documents would then need to be sent to the Chinese court via diplomatic channels.”
“The law needs reform! Victims shouldn’t suffer further from legal loopholes,” one social media user said
The attorney said one option would be “to utilize online court hearings,” but called the approach “controversial.”
“For instance, if a divorce case involves an American and a Chinese citizen, conducting an online court session on US soil could raise concerns about China’s judicial actions infringing upon US judicial sovereignty,” Zhang said.