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A man in China sparked bigamy allegations after holding a wedding reception with his wife and a 100-day celebration for a child he had with a former girlfriend in the same banquet hall — on different floors — on the same day.

According to Chinese media including the Beijing News, a man surnamed Wu held both events at a banquet hall in Guizhou Province on Friday. The wedding reception took place on one floor while the baby celebration was held on another floor of the same building.

The venue told Chinese media that the contracts for the two events had been signed separately by different families. A dispute broke out between the two parties that day, prompting staff to call police, but both events concluded as planned and all payments were settled, the venue said.

Local authorities said Wu is legally married to a woman surnamed Kong, with the couple having registered their marriage. He has a child with a former girlfriend surnamed Lin, but the two never registered a marriage. Authorities determined that holding a 100-day celebration alone does not constitute bigamy. A financial dispute between the two parties is being handled jointly by multiple government agencies, they said.

Article 258 of China's Criminal Law defines bigamy as either registering a new marriage while already having a legal spouse, or cohabiting with another person as a couple over an extended period while still married.

A Fujian-based lawyer in Henan Province told the Dahe Daily that a 100-day celebration is not equivalent to publicly cohabiting as a married couple, and that the case may not meet the legal threshold for bigamy.

However, another lawyer said the key question is when Wu registered his marriage with Kong.

If Wu registered his marriage with Kong first and then cohabited with Lin as a couple and had a child with her, bigamy charges could apply — and if Lin knew Wu was already married, she could also face criminal liability. Conversely, if Wu had already been living with Lin and had a child with her before registering his marriage with Kong, bigamy would not apply.

The lawyers said Wu is obligated to support the child born outside his marriage regardless of whether a marriage was registered.


dbsdn1110@heraldcorp.com