‘Greedy and vicious’: Chinese woman blamed for ex-husband’s suicide after blackmailing him for US$1.45 million in divorce ordered by court to return money
- China’s notorious ‘blackmail bride’ is ordered by a mainland court to return millions of yuan in cash and assets to her former husband’s family
- The case caught national attention after the Beijing IT entrepreneur jumped off a high-rise building, blaming his ‘extremely vicious’ ex-wife
A woman in mainland China who became infamous for blackmailing her former husband for large amounts of money before he committed suicide has been ordered by a court to return to his family assets worth more than 10 million yuan (US$1.45 million) he gave her during their brief marriage.
In a case that caught national attention in China in 2017, Su Xiangmao, the founder of a Beijing IT company, killed himself by jumping from a high-rise building. In a suicide note, released on social media by his brother, Su wrote that he felt forced to commit suicide by his “extremely vicious former wife Zhai Xinxin”.
Su’s family sued Zhai in 2018, asking a court to rescind the transfer of assets by Su to her and the return of any cash he gave her, Red Star News reported.
Su, 43, met Zhai, who is six years younger, in March 2017 through a matchmaking service in Beijing.
They married about two months later, on June 7, before divorcing on July 18. Less than two months after that, on September 7, Su committed suicide.
In the latest development in the case, the Chaoyang District Court in Beijing found that during the 110 days from their first meeting to their divorce, Zhai received a car, jewellery and more than 3 million yuan (US$436,000) in cash. This court decided Zhai had married Su with “an obvious for-benefit purpose”, the report said.
The court ordered Zhai to return to Su’s family a collection of Cartier rings and necklaces, valued at 320,000 yuan, a Tesla car worth 1 million yuan and a combined 1.87 million yuan she received from Su in numerous money transfers.
Zhai argued in court that the items and money were “betrothal gifts”, but the court dismissed this claim because Zhai had told Su to buy her the gifts and give her money which was not in line with typical betrothal gift customs.
WeChat messages read in court revealed that on one occasion after they quarrelled, Su asked Zhai’s forgiveness, to which she replied: “Aren’t you wooing me? Then transfer me 50,000 yuan each day from the day after tomorrow until I am willing to marry you.”
In another exchange, Su asked Zhai: “Can you forgive me for the last time? I can give you 50,000 yuan right now. I will give you another 200,000 yuan tomorrow.” Zhai replied, “Transfer it quickly.”
In their divorce settlement, Zhai forced Su to sign an agreement promising to buy her a flat in Sanya on the tropical island of Hainan in southern China and give her 10 million yuan cash.
Su stated in his suicide note that Zhai threatened to go to the police claiming that Su had evaded taxes and that his company had operated illegally.
Su agreed and gave Zhai the flat and transferred 6.6 million yuan to her account and wrote an IOU to her for the remaining 3.4 million yuan.
“Su must guarantee to pay off the outstanding amount within 120 days of the divorce. If he refuses to pay or delays payment, he should pay Zhai a penalty of 100,000 yuan per day,” the agreement said.
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In his suicide note, Su said he regretted signing the divorce agreement.
“I admit I was too weak at that time. I hid in a hotel for some days and felt exhausted before signing that evil agreement,” he wrote.
“I feel very ashamed and angry now. It is that divorce agreement that forced me to death. I find every word in that agreement is orchestrated.
“I feel desperate. My financial chain is broken. I feel so desperate,” he said.
The court found that Zhai’s blackmail had contributed to Su’s suicide and that the agreement be revoked as Zhai had coerced Su into signing it.
The court also ordered Zhai to return the 6.6 million yuan to Su’s family and hand over ownership of a house in Beijing and the flat in Sanya.
The court’s verdict had been viewed more than 140 million times on Weibo at the time of writing, with tens of thousands of comments.
“This is a greedy and vicious woman. I support the court’s decision,” one person commented.
“The verdict has finally come out. I’ve been following this case for a long time. Su Xiangmao should feel a bit relieved in Heaven. But he has paid too high a price. Sigh!” another person wrote.
