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Fran Lu

A Chinese man with terminal cancer went in search of his ex-wife so she could look after their daughter and was devastated to find out that the girl he had been taking sole care of was not his.
The man, surnamed Li, from central China’s Henan province, met his ex-wife, surnamed Wang, who is also from Henan, while working in Shenzhen in 2013.
Wang soon fell pregnant and went back to their hometown. Li sent her most of his salary every month. They married in 2015 and registered the child under Li’s household.
The couple divorced in 2018, and Li got custody of their daughter.

Wang promised to pay him 500 yuan (US$70) in alimony every month, but often fell behind with the payments.
Li’s elder daughter, whom he had with another ex-wife, accused Wang of having bad habits like drinking, smoking and playing cards and of ignoring her child.
Li worked as a delivery rider and substitute driver to support his daughter.
In 2022, Li was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer. He needed regular chemotherapy and could not work.
His 10 year-old daughter looked after him and studied by herself.

Li decided that he could not leave his child unattended after his death.
He asked his elder daughter to contact Wang to take over responsibility for their daughter, but Wang kept rejecting him and even blocked him on her phone.
Wang’s indifference made them suspicious, and they did a paternity test.
It turned out that Li’s “daughter” was not his.
Li said he was shocked to discover the truth. The child was the apple of his eye and, despite the news, he insisted he wanted her to be looked after properly.
Wang’s mother insisted that they had told Li the truth when the girl was born. She said her daughter would not have married Li if that were not the case because Li is 20 years older than Wang.
Li’s elder daughter then sent the girl to the local police station, and for three days, both the father and mother refused to pick her up.

China’s Civil Code recognises the right to request a change in custody for people who are unable to continue raising their children.
Wang’s mother said her daughter had limited financial resources and had remarried and had children.
However, she was willing to take care of her daughter and had already taken her back to her home.
“What kind of mother is this to not take good care of her child?” said one online observer.
“Even if the girl is not the man’s biological daughter, the mother should still take over because he is so ill,” said another.


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Cancer-stricken father who took sole care of girl shocked by result of paternity test, struggles to get ex-wife with ‘bad habits’ to take over.


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Dying China dad discovers daughter is not biological child, wants ex-wife to assume custody

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Cancer-stricken father who took sole care of girl shocked by result of paternity test, struggles to get ex-wife with ‘bad habits’ to take over.

Cancer-stricken father who took sole care of girl shocked by result of paternity test, struggles to get ex-wife with ‘bad habits’ to take over.