For four years, a man in Jilin, China juggled his relationship with his wife and four other women — who were all living in the same housing complex — without their knowing.
One of his lovers even lived in the same building as his wife.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the story was first reported by the People’s Republic of China newspaper Legal Daily.
The man, Xiaojun (pseudonym), came from an impoverished family, dropped out of high school, and did odd jobs, but crafted the persona of a second-generation rich man.
He claimed that his parents ran large-scale bathing and engineering businesses, despite his mother being a bathhouse attendant and his father working part-time jobs as a construction worker.
To woo his now-wife, Xiaoja, he sent her photos of property titles, luxury cars, luxury items, and cash, and gifted her counterfeit luxury goods.
When she became pregnant, the two registered their marriage.
Image courtesy of Canva for illustrative purposes only.
Eventually, Xiaoja learned the truth about Xiaojun’s life, but chose not to divorce him.
When he stopped contributing to their living expenses and began asking for money, Xiaoja kicked him out of their home to raise their child by herself.
Only a week after moving out, Xiaojun met another woman, Xiaohong, and wooed her with similar tactics.
He convinced her to lend him 140,000 yuan (S$26,000), claiming to use it to renovate their future abode, but spent it on maintaining his rich man image.
He even rented a flat in the same building as his estranged wife and lived there with Xiaohong when she became pregnant.
At the same time, he had relationships with three other women living in the same housing complex — university students Xiaomin and Xiaoxin, and nurse Xiaolan — where he pretended to be a policeman.
Image courtesy of Canva for illustrative purposes only.
He then defrauded them of over 30,000 yuan (S$5,571).
In April 2022, Xiaoxin asked him to repay his debt.
He rented a luxury car to meet her then handed her a black plastic bag and told her not to open the bag meant for “important business”.
He claimed that the bag contained 100,000 yuan (S$18,570).
Image courtesy of Canva for illustrative purposes only.
Furious, she reported Xiaojun to the police, who apprehended him.
His legal wife and Xiaohong, who were strolling with their children in the complex, then realised they shared the same husband.
Xiaojun was recently sentenced to nine years and six months in prison and was fined 120,000 yuan (S$22,285) for fraud, bigamy, and theft.
His illegal gains amounting to 280,000 yuan (S$51,998) were also seized and returned to his victims.
He was also found to have stolen Xiaohong’s mother’s security card, which made her lose about 110,000 yuan (S$20,428).
The news of the deceitful man drew surprised reactions from Chinese netizens.
“Even TV dramas would not dare write such a plot,” one commenter remarked.
Also read: ‘What goes around comes around’: Wife of cheating vice-principal posts more cryptic messages
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Canva for illustrative purposes only.
Mr Seetoh Kwok Meng was the "most jovial" among his siblings, said Mr KF Seetoh.
The customer wanted to pay in cash only and rejected the rider's request to transfer…
The coroner said this was the first case of its kind he had encountered in…
The brand-new jet suffered a series of technical issues since its first-ever flight on 19…
The Paradise Tree Snake may have misjudged its landing and ended up on the car.
The 69-year-old was reportedly upset over his neighbour's refusal to apologise.