‘She knew I was married’: man in China refusing to pay child support to ex-lover told by court ‘it is a legal obligation’
- The man in the case began an affair with the woman in 2017 while he was married with three children and said the child was ‘hers’
- Some morally outraged people argued an affair is ‘disrespectful’ and the mother and daughter should receive nothing to discourage others
A man in China has refused to pay child support to his former lover for their daughter, arguing in court that as the woman knew he was married but kept the child — she should pay for it.
On Monday, a local court in eastern China’s Jiangsu province publicised its ruling on the dispute about who should bear the cost of raising a child born out of wedlock on their WeChat account.
The man in the case, surnamed Zhang, met the woman, surnamed Yan, in 2017 while married with three children and began an affair, according to court documents.
Yan became pregnant and the two made an agreement that Zhang would pay for her nutritional expenses during the pregnancy and for financial support after the baby was born.
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Soon after Yan gave birth to a daughter, the two ended the relationship. However, Yan was left to raise the child without any financial support from Zhang after he refused to honour their earlier agreement.
Yan filed a legal claim for child support after repeated attempts to get Zhang to contribute to the cost of raising their daughter failed.
