Top court vows crackdown on marriage fraud

China's top court has reiterated the ban on demanding betrothal gifts or any form of property under the pretext of marriage, pledging firm judicial action to crack down on illegal practices, including marriage fraud.

In a landmark case released by the Supreme People's Court on Friday, a man surnamed Zheng and a woman surnamed Wu registered their marriage on March 4, 2024, three days after they met during a matchmaking arrangement. On the registration day, Zheng paid Wu a betrothal gift of 200,000 yuan ($28,647) in cash and by bank transfer.

On March 6, 2024, the couple returned to Zheng's hometown. However, a week later, Wu left under the pretext of traveling. Despite Zheng's repeated attempts to urge her to return and live together, she refused each time for various reasons.

On April 15, Wu informed Zheng via WeChat: "We got married in haste after knowing each other for only a few days. In truth, we don't really understand each other and share no emotional foundation. I intend to divorce you."

As Wu refused to return the betrothal gift, Zheng filed a lawsuit with a local court, seeking divorce and demanding full refund of the 200,000 yuan.

After a trial, the local court ruled that the couple had only known each other for a brief period of slightly over 10 days from their meeting to marriage registration and subsequent separation. Although they married, they had spent minimal time together, had no children, and had never engaged in meaningful emotional communication or established a genuine marital relationship. The local court therefore granted Zheng's request for divorce.

Meanwhile, as the couple had cohabited for only 10 days after marriage registration and Wu, after receiving the betrothal gift, had refused to live together without actually utilizing the funds, the court also ordered her to return the full sum of money to Zheng.

The top court cited this ruling, stating that based on the recipient's attitude and behavior toward the marriage, there existed the possibility of her demanding property under the guise of marriage. It asked courts at all levels to better handle marriage cases involving betrothal gifts to promote family harmony and safeguard social stability.

Giving betrothal gifts, also known as bride price, is a traditional marriage custom in which the groom's family offers the bride's family an amount of money as a symbol of respect. It originated as a way of expressing good wishes for newlyweds.

Additionally, the top court underscored: "When individuals commit fraud by demanding bride price and misappropriating others' property, constituting crimes, they must not only compensate the victims for their losses but also bear corresponding criminal liability."

It highlighted another case where a woman surnamed Lu, either individually or together with her mother, deceived more than 10 people out of over 1 million yuan by demanding betrothal gifts and requesting loans under the guise of marriage between 2021 and 2024. Lu was convicted of fraud and given a prison term for the crime.

The top court revealed that the fraudulent activities of Lu were uncovered in March 2024 when a local court, while handling civil cases, discovered her involvement in multiple property disputes arising from marriage arrangements. "Given the close timing of each case and Lu's refusal to return the betrothal gifts during enforcement proceedings, the local court analyzed that she might be suspected of marriage fraud," it added.