A man who referred to his ex-wife as “chubby” in his mobile phone contacts has been accused of being disrespectful and harmful to their marriage.
A court in Turkey has ruled that the man’s pet name for his ex-wife caused her emotional harm.
According to the Turkish news outlet Sabah, a woman in Usak, Western Turkey, filed for divorce, citing emotional breakdown, while her husband countersued, accusing her of infidelity.
The couple reportedly have children, though their details were not disclosed.
During the hearing, the woman said that her husband had sent her multiple threatening text messages, including “Get away, I do not want to see you” and “Let the devil see your face”.
He also demanded money from her for his father’s surgery and saved her contact name in his phone as “Tombik”, which means “Chubby”.
The woman argued that the nickname was demeaning and damaged their marriage.
The court agreed, ruling that the texts and the nickname amounted to “emotional and economic violence”.
The husband accused his wife of having another man at their home, but investigators found the man had only visited her to deliver a book, with no evidence of any sexual relationship.
The court determined that the husband’s insults and financial pressure were more severe and found him primarily at fault.
Under Turkish law, words or actions that attack someone’s dignity, including via messages, are punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine.
The couple’s divorce was finalised, and the infidelity claim was dismissed. The husband was ordered to pay his former partner both material and moral compensation. The specific amount of compensation being paid has not been publicly revealed
The incident has caused a buzz on social media.
One online observer said: “Being called ‘chubby’ actually sounds kind of cute. Being fat is not a bad thing, and being called fat is not necessarily an insult.”
While another wrote: “This is a fair ruling. The husband kept sending insulting messages to his wife, and that is where he crossed the line.”
A third person said: “I am going to change how I label my friends’ numbers, at least to nothing offensive.”
Stories of love and betrayal revealed by smartphones always attract public attention.
In May, a man from southwestern China broke up with his girlfriend after discovering that her phone had automatically connected to the Wi-fi of a hotel they went to for the first time together.
He took it as proof that she had gone there with someone else and betrayed him.
The woman, feeling insulted, contacted a local television station to prove her innocence. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
