China woman beaten by philandering cab driver boyfriend she gave US$550,000 in gifts to after asking for refund
- Woman says unfaithful ex attacked her because she asked for refund
- Pair met when man picked her up while working as ride-hail driver
A woman in China took has taken her ex-boyfriend to court and claimed he savagely beat her after he refused to return cash and luxury items estimated to be worth four million yuan (US$553,00) that she had given to him while they dated.
The woman, surnamed Li, from Beijing fell in love with the man, surnamed Deng, after he picked her up as part of his job as a ride-hailing driver in 2019, reported Star News.
Li said they soon became boyfriend and girlfriend but broke up in 2021 after Li spotted Deng with another woman and learned that they lived together.
During their two years of dating, Li said she bought lavish items like trainers and bags for her boyfriend and transferred about two million yuan (US$277,000) to his bank account.
“He hinted that if I wanted our romance to continue, I should continue to give him money and buy him nice things,” Li was quoted as saying.
“He didn’t date me because of love, but just for the money,” she said.
When Deng was informed that he was being sued by Li, he went to her home and assaulted her.
“He beat me so fiercely that I thought he intended to kill me,” said Li.
Deng claimed they had a joint account and the money was meant to be spent together.
He also said some of the items were only used when they were together and that she kept them when they were apart.
He did not respond to the accusations of domestic violence.
“My attitude is that I want her out of my life forever,” he told the media. “She has been harassing me for far too long.”
Their case trended on mainland social media and was viewed 53 million times on Weibo.
“It shows that, no matter if you are wealthy or not, people should avoid having a ‘love brain’,” said one online observer, referring to the phenomenon of people making irrational decisions because they are infatuated.
