Winning a lottery is a rare and joyful occasion but not for this Chinese man who tried to conceal the big win from his wife. According to a report by South China Morning Post, the man whose surname is identified to be Zhou won a 10 million yuan (approximately Rs 12 crore) lottery. But in the latest court hearing, he has been reportedly asked to pay millions of yuan in compensation for hiding the truth from his wife. Seemingly, Zhou won the lottery two years ago and received about 8.43 million after the deduction of all taxes.
The Chinese man did not inform his wife, reportedly surnamed Lin, about the event. Instead, he chose to deposit 2 million yuan in the bank account of his older sister. Zhou also seemingly withdrew a major sum of the lottery win to help his ex-wife in purchasing a flat. When Lin reportedly discovered the truth about the money, she immediately filed for a divorce. In her plea, Lin asked for the couple’s property to be divided equally and also sought compensation for being deceived by her husband.
As per Hangzhou Daily, a court in Wenzhou located in China’s eastern Zhejiang province ordered Zhou to pay millions of yuan for the deception on February 1. Lin reportedly requested the mainland court to retrieve two-thirds of the amount that Zhou had concealed. While arriving at the decision, the court considered the lottery amount as the couple’s common property. Hence, the move of transferring money to his ex-wife was considered an embezzlement of their common property. The mainland court thus ordered Zhou to pay 60% of the concealed amount to Lin.
The domestic lawsuit has gone viral on Chinese social media platforms by amassing a barrage of responses on Douyin (Chinese TikTok). According to the reports, a user reportedly highlighted how money became the sole reason behind the couple’s separation, “The 10 million-yuan prize has only deepened the rift between these two people.” Another apparently commented, “It served as another reason for me not to get married.”
If the report is to be believed then neither Zhou nor Lin have raised any objection or sought an appeal over the court’s ruling.
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