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“I want a divorce, but he’s in prison overseas” – Wang Nuannuan’s cross-border divorce dilemma

Home » Blog » “I want a divorce, but he’s in prison overseas” – Wang Nuannuan’s cross-border divorce dilemma

Many people first heard Wang Nuannuan’s name because of the “Chinese Pregnant Woman Thailand Cliff Case” that shocked both China and Thailand. On June 9, 2019, while three months pregnant, she was pushed off a 34-meter cliff by her husband Yu Xiaodong in Thailand’s Pha Taem National Park under the pretext of “watching the sunrise.” Miraculously, she escaped death—suffering 17 fractures and undergoing 8 surgeries, yet she tenaciously survived.

Despite doctors’ prognosis that she might remain infertile for life, she chose in vitro fertilization. After 3 rounds of ovarian stimulation, 5 embryo transfers, and 300,000 yuan spent on medical expenses, she finally welcomed her child at age 37. Yet even though her husband has been sentenced in Thailand, she remains legally bound by their marriage.

Why does a marriage survive legally after an attempted murder?

The core challenge behind this case is: How does serving a sentence abroad impact divorce proceedings?

Case Obstacles

Difficulty in Cross-Border Service of Process

Initiating civil litigation requires service of judicial documents on the defendant. However, Thailand is not a member of the Hague Service Convention, precluding the use of the simplified Hague Convention route. Instead, traditional diplomatic authentication channels must be utilized to authenticate the documents.

Additionally, as this case involves an incarcerated individual, cooperation from prison authorities is required for document delivery, further prolonging the entire process. This single step alone took nearly three years to complete.

(For more details on the Hague Convention, please refer to our previous article: What is International Public Notary? A Practical Guide for Seamless Cross-Border Document Circulation)

Difficulty in bringing defendants to court

Divorce cases differ from ordinary civil disputes in that they involve distinct personal rights and interests. When adjudicating such cases, courts must fully safeguard the litigation rights of both parties and thus exercise particular caution when applying default judgments.

In this case, Yu Xiaodong possesses full capacity for civil conduct. However, he is currently serving a prison sentence in Thailand and is objectively unable to leave the prison to appear in court. This means the court cannot directly render a default judgment but must find a way to safeguard the defendant’s right to present his case.

However, where should the trial be held? It was clearly impractical for domestic courts to travel to Thailand, and Thai prisons could not permit the defendant’s temporary departure from the country. After multiple rounds of coordination, the court ultimately decided to conduct the proceedings via video link—marking the first such attempt in divorce litigation involving individuals serving sentences abroad.

The success of this video trial was made possible through multiple rounds of communication and technical collaboration between China and Thailand. According to Wang Nuannuan, to ensure a smooth connection between the two sides, Thai authorities had previously organized technical personnel to attempt setting up a dedicated video system to guarantee network security and stability. However, due to repeated system compatibility issues, the Thai side replaced multiple teams of staff without success. Ultimately, to ensure the trial proceeded as scheduled, both sides decided to switch to WeChat as the video tool, allowing the case to smoothly enter the substantive trial phase.

Legal Gaps and Procedural Dilemmas

One might assume that after a criminal conviction for murdering one’s spouse, the marital relationship would also come to an end. However, according to the provisions of the Civil Code, criminal offenses, serving prison sentences, or prolonged absence from the country do not automatically dissolve a marriage. Precisely because of this, Wang Nuannuan’s path to divorce was destined to be more arduous than others’. As China’s first divorce case where the defendant is serving a sentence abroad, it not only faces procedural challenges such as cross-border service of process and video hearings but also exposes shortcomings in China’s cross-border judicial cooperation mechanisms and gaps in the application of law.

A woman who was pushed off a cliff by her husband and narrowly escaped death found herself trapped in an “endless” marriage after surviving. What’s even more heartbreaking is that the perpetrator husband and his family exploited the complexity of divorce proceedings to exert reverse pressure, plunging the victim back into distress. Such circumstances not only breach the fundamental boundaries of humanity but also expose the “procedural vacuum” within the current legal system when faced with exceptional circumstances.

In light of this situation, it is worth reflecting on whether China can further expand the scope of application for “divorce judgments by default.” When a defendant possesses civil capacity but is objectively unable to appear in court (such as being incarcerated or detained), can a divorce be granted through default judgment while fully safeguarding their rights?

Real- Life Impact

Wang Nuannuan’s predicament is not merely a legal issue, but a dual torment of life and psyche. For her, these years of waiting have not been a simple litigation process, but a life that has been “frozen.”

Marital status cannot be altered: She cannot remarry and remains legally married to her incarcerated spouse. Furthermore, the child is still legally considered legitimate and maintains a statutory familial relationship with the imprisoned father.

Property cannot be divided: Prior to the dissolution of the marriage, any income or investments made by Wang Nuan Nuan shall continue to be regarded as marital property and remain subject to the regime of joint marital property.
Psychological scars linger: The inability to dissolve the marriage leaves victims trapped in past trauma. Wang Nuan Nuan recalls that when she saw Yu Xiaodong in the Thai courtroom, the husband who had once attacked her greeted her warmly: “Honey, you’re here. I missed you so much. Did you miss me?” For victims, being unable to sever the legal ties with their abusers is like a nightmare from which they cannot awaken.

This case has shown the public that divorce is not merely a legal decree, but also concerns the parties’ actual circumstances and psychological liberation.

Summary and Insights

The Wang Nuannuan case offers three key insights and is also of landmark significance.

At the judicial practice level: This marks the first instance in China where a divorce lawsuit was successfully pursued despite the defendant serving a sentence abroad. The court ensured the defendant’s rights through remote video hearings while facilitating the case’s progress, thereby establishing a precedent for similar future cases.

Institutional Level: This case highlights the limitations of the law in exceptional circumstances. Urgent issues include refining the scope of application for “divorce by default judgment” and optimizing cross-border judicial cooperation to ensure smooth service of process, court hearings, and enforcement of judgments. Wang Nuannuan’s experience reminds us that the law must keep pace with reality to truly protect citizens’ rights.

The discussions sparked by this case also reflect a broader social reality: as more Chinese citizens live, work, or study abroad, cross-border enforcement issues will inevitably increase. To ensure the law truly works, smoother mechanisms for service of process, court hearings, and judgment enforcement must be established.

Wang Nuannuan’s story reminds us that the law is not merely about procedures and statutes; it is fundamentally about people’s lives and inner peace. Only through sound systems and smooth processes can every individual trapped in the shadows of marriage be seen by the law and ultimately find freedom.

This case demonstrates that when one party is serving a sentence abroad, divorce proceedings may face prolonged delays due to transnational legal obstacles.

So, what if the defendant were serving time in Australia instead of Thailand? Would the outcome differ?

In the next article, we will examine divorce procedures and potential solutions under Australian law in such a scenario.

Written by Xueying Yang; Content planning: Sun Gang; Xueying Yang; Proofreading: Sun Gang

The content of this article is based on publicly available information and the author’s understanding, and does not constitute any form of professional legal advice or basis for business decisions. Readers should refer to this article in the context of their own actual situation and consult relevant professionals for specific guidance. The author and the publishing platform do not assume legal responsibility for any consequences arising from the use of the information in this article.

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