A woman in eastern China was left shocked after discovering her husband’s 16-year affair, all because his mistress showed up at his father’s funeral dressed as family.
The woman, surnamed Shang from Shandong province, had been married to her husband, Wang, for 19 years. It remains unclear if the couple have any children.
Mistress appeared at funeral in mourning attire
In June 2022, after Shang’s father-in-law passed away, she noticed an unfamiliar woman among the mourners.
The woman, later identified as Wen, was dressed in full mourning attire and introduced herself as the “daughter-in-law”.
Reported by SCMP, the woman stood beside the coffin, weeping as though she were part of the family.
Confused and uneasy, Shang confronted her husband about Wen’s presence. However, his vague and evasive replies only deepened her suspicions.
Discovery of a double life
Unable to shake off her doubts, Shang took the matter to court where the shocking truth was revealed.
Investigations found that Wang had met Wen during the third year of his marriage to Shang. The two began a secret relationship that lasted 16 years and even led to the birth of a son.
While Wang told his wife that he was often away for long-haul trucking jobs, he was in fact living with Wen in another city, quietly raising their child together.
Neighbours in that area said that although Wang and Wen were never legally married, they referred to each other as husband and wife.
In one instance, when Wen was hospitalised, Wang even signed her surgical consent form, identifying himself as her spouse.
Court ruled it as bigamy
In court, Wang tried to argue that he and Wen had never officially registered their marriage and were “merely supporting each other”.
However, the court found that his actions amounted to a common-law marriage while still being legally married to Shang, which constitutes bigamy under Chinese law.
He was sentenced to one year in prison, and his appeal against the verdict was later rejected.
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