Man in China demands half of children's ang bao money following divorce

A recently divorced man in Chongqing, China, not only wanted to split the property he owned with his ex-wife, but also their sons' ang bao money. 

The man surnamed Cai successfully filed for divorce with his wife, Wang, after more than a year of separation, reported the South China Morning post. 

In the divorce settlement, Cai had asked for half of jointly owned property, as well as half of the 260,000 yuan (S$50,000) that their sons had collected in ang baos. 

Cai and Wang were married in 2007, and have two sons aged 10 and 12. 

According to SiChuan Daily, the couple had filed for divorce in 2020 after a serious argument, but their application was rejected by the court. 

Wang reportedly left their marital home with the two boys after the argument, and has since been living at her parents' home. 

On Feb 20, the court granted the couple a divorce after deciding that their marriage had failed. 

They also approved of the division of property, but rejected Cai's request to get a share of the boys' ang bao money. 

The court stated that the money could not be split as it was not considered jointly owned property between the pair.

News of Cai's request also drew the ire of netizens who criticised the man for his actions. 

"This man is horrible," said a netizen.

"Will this man pay child maintenance? I doubt it," wrote another.

Others also said that the ang bao money was meant for children and should not be touched by parents.

READ ALSO: To avoid compensating neighbour, man in China transfers assets to wife and divorces her

claudiatan@asiaone.com