China wife sues after discovering late husband’s affair, US$2.8 million transfer to mistress

After her husband’s death, a woman from Shanghai found out that he had been conducting a seven-year affair and had transferred nearly US$3 million to his mistress. Photo: Shutterstock/SCMP

BEIJING (SCMP): A Chinese woman was shocked to discover that her late husband had engaged in a seven-year affair and had transferred nearly 20 million yuan (US$3 million) to his mistress.

The discovery prompted the cheated-on wife to file a lawsuit to reclaim the amount.

The woman, surnamed Shen from Shanghai, married her husband, surnamed Jin, in July 1999. The couple had a son and a daughter.

Jin died in May 2022, by which time the couple had been married for more than 20 years. Their ages have not been disclosed.

It was not until after her husband’s death that Shen discovered he had been having a long-term affair with a woman surnamed Tao since 2015.

Shen was shocked to find that Jin had gifted Tao more than 19 million yuan over a seven-year period.

The wife had been completely unaware of the affair until she came across the shocking revelation while sorting through her late husband’s personal belongings.

On discovering the large transfers, Shen and her children filed a lawsuit to invalidate the gifts and demand that Tao return the 19 million yuan.

The wife found out about her late husband’s affair while she was sorting through his belongings. Photo: Shutterstock / SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST

During the initial proceedings, a court ruled that Jin’s unilateral decision to gift such a large amount of marital assets to another person was invalid and that Tao must return the funds.

After deducting 5.4 million yuan (US$770,000) that Tao had already transferred back to Jin, the court ordered her to return the remaining 14 million yuan (US$2 million) to Shen.

Tao appealed the ruling, but the Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court rejected the appeal and upheld the original judgment.

The court determined that, since Jin had engaged in an extramarital affair with Tao, the gifts not only infringed upon Shen’s financial rights but also violated public morals and social ethics.

This verdict sparked heated debate on social media.

One person said: “Finally. Let all mistresses end up with nothing: no man, no money.”

Another said: “The cheater died and the money came back. Perfect.”

“A ruling like this is what truly upholds public morals and social order. This is great and the mistress did not get a single thing,” wrote a third.

“19 million yuan? Most working-class people could not earn that amount even if they started working back in the Qin dynasty (221–206). Yet a man gave it away as proof of love, just like that. This ruling is truly satisfying,” another person said. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST