China boy sues dad for taking his US$11,500 red packet money to cover remarriage expenses
Court orders money-grabbing divorcee who took accumulated New Year gift money held in son’s bank account to pay back full amount
A Chinese father who, after divorcing, confiscated more than 80,000 yuan (US$11,500) of his son’s Chinese New Year “red envelope” money to cover the expense of a new marriage ceremony, has lost a lawsuit that demanded he return the full amount.
The boy, 10, who is known as Xiaohui, comes from Zhengzhou in Henan province, northern China, and has been living with his father since his parents divorced two years ago.
Over the years, Xiaohui had accumulated more than 80,000 yuan in Chinese New Year red envelope money, all of which was deposited into a bank account opened specifically for him by his father.
Later, Xiaohui’s father remarried, after which Xiaohui was sent to live with his mother.
She subsequently discovered that, without Xiaohui’s consent, his father had withdrawn all 82,750 yuan, including both principal and interest, and used it to cover his wedding expenses.