'Stop hurting others': Li Jinglei hits back after Wang Leehom files court motion against her

TAIPEI - After about two weeks of silence between singer Wang Leehom and his estranged wife Li Jinglei, both sides have once again exchanged words and accusations in their divorce and custody battle.

A Chinese netizen leaked documents last Friday (Feb 11), reportedly from the feuding couple's court proceedings in New York, claiming that Li, 35, had not provided any evidence for the accusations she had made against Wang, 45, while he had already submitted 11 pieces of evidence.

The documents, which have not been verified, also showed that Wang's legal team had filed a motion against Lee for allegedly breaking their custody agreement.

This is the third time that Wang's lawyers have filed motions against Li.

They have three children — daughters Jiali, seven, Jiana, five, and son Jiayao, three — who live with Li.

Hours later, Li responded with a statement through her lawyers, questioning the source of the leak, as the court documents were not made public and were filed anonymously.

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In the statement, Li alleged that "Mr Wang ignored our agreement, froze our account and real estate property that could be used and disposed of according to the agreement, cut off our financial resources and filed the lawsuit in New York.

"In addition to pushing the burden of legal fees on me, Mr Wang was reluctant to pay even the most basic child support and appealed to the New York court to make us pay for his legal fees.

She asked her husband of eight years to "abide by the agreement, take responsibility for your promises, let go, end the matter as soon as possible, stop making the same mistake again and stop hurting others and yourself".

Li's side then issued a statement, saying: "The divorce has triggered a trial by the media and irrational online bullying. No matter who was attacked, they are still the children's father or mother.

"The United States court ordered both sides to stop publicly attacking each other in the interest of the children. It is regrettable that false accusations and statements are being spread again."

The former couple have been engaged in a war of words on social media since news of their split broke, with Lee accusing Wang of multiple infidelities in a bombshell expose in December 2021.

The Mandopop star later apologised and announced that he would take a break from show business.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.