Chinese Man Divorces Wife After Winning $721,800 in Lottery, Gets Sued

A Chinese man thought the ideal time to divorce his wife was one day before he collected his more than half a million dollars in lottery winnings.

The ex-husband from southwest China, Liu Xiang, won 4.6 million yuan ($721,800) in the national lottery back in February, according to the South China Morning Post.

The couple’s marriage had reportedly been on a steep decline since June 2013 when Liu began seeing a former girlfriend. Though the two separated in July last year, they remained married.

The wife, Yuan Li, was surprised when her husband requested a hurried divorce in February and offered to cover their debts. Unable to refuse, she signed the divorce agreement.

A day later, he arrived at the lottery center to collect his prize winnings.

Yuan was unaware that her husband had hit the jackpot until her friends began congratulating her for her luck. She quickly took him to court to demand that the money be split evenly since he bought the ticket when they were still married.

The court awarded the woman 1.15 million yuan ($180,470) as compensation.

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