Parents sued by daughter for... keeping nearly $10,000 in lucky money
Chinese netizens are hotly debating whether parents or children should keep the lucky red envelopes for the new year.
The court in Jinan, Shandong Province, China officially announced information on its Weibo account on February 18 about a number of cases related to lucky money at the beginning of the year.
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| Illustration: The Seattle Times. |
Notably, a female university student from Yunnan sued her parents in 2016 for allegedly keeping 58,000 yuan (about $9,200) in red envelopes she had received over the years. She decided to take legal action after her divorced parents refused to pay her university tuition.
As a result, the daughter won the lawsuit and her parents had to pay 1,500 NDT/month in installments.
In another case, a man and his three children successfully sued their ex-wife for taking 560,000 yuan (over $88,000) worth of lucky money that should have belonged to the children. The mother was later forced to return the entire amount with interest.
According toSCMP, Chinese couples traditionally give red envelopes filled with lucky money to children and younger unmarried people during the Lunar New Year. However, it is also common for parents to keep money for their children in China.
The Jinan court said the act of giving lucky money was directed at children, so the related rights belonged to the children. Although the legal responsibility of guardians is to manage and protect the assets of those under their care, they should not abuse it./.
