‘Breaking a military marriage’: 10 months’ jail for man in China who had affair with wife of PLA soldier on active duty
- Punishment is so harsh because state is obliged to give special protection to marriage of PLA soldier
- Husband suspected wife of having an affair when she asked for divorce
A man in China has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for destroying a “military marriage” by dating and cohabiting with the wife of a serving People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier.
China’s Criminal Law stipulates that anyone cohabiting or marrying another person knowing that he or she is the spouse of a PLA soldier will face imprisonment of up to three years.
The punishment is so harsh because the state is obliged not only to give special protection to the marriage of a soldier but also to respect and protect the honour of serving members of the military, according to China’s National Defence Law.
The People’s Court Daily reported that a man, surnamed Ma, was handed the 10-month jail term by a court in Dunhua, in the northeastern province of Jilin, for the crime of destroying a military marriage.
Ma met a woman, surnamed Yuan, who was his former colleague, in 2022, and the pair had sex the same day.
When Yuan told Ma she was married and that her husband was a PLA soldier, Ma did not take it seriously at first and told others that she was his girlfriend.
