A woman’s virginity is worth $5,000 in China according to a court ruling

A Chinese court has ordered a married man to pay $5,000 to the woman he was having an affair with for “violating her right to virginity” because he pretended to be single when they slept together. On top of that, the man was told during sentencing at Pudong New Area People’s Court in Shanghai that he would have to write the woman a letter of apology.

The man, who has been identified only be his surname Li, met the woman, who’s surname is Chen, on an online forum several years ago. However, the two did not begin a romantic relationship until September of last year under the false pretense that Li was a bachelor. Li claimed that he had not had sexual relations with Chen, but the court rejected this claim and found him guilty of taking her virginity by deception.

The couple had sex together for the first time while they were visiting Singapore later in the year, after which Li decided to break off the relationship and refused to respond to any of Chen’s numerous attempts to resume contact. Frustrated, Chen decided to break into Li’s apartment in Shanghai in February, where she discovered that Li had actually been married for several years.

A month later, Chen filed a lawsuit against Li for allegedly “violating her virginity by deception” and demanded he pay her $80,000 in compensation, as well as provide her with a letter of apology.

The Pudong New Area People’s Court agreed that virginity was a civil right that must be protected, adding that having sex with Li had negatively impacted on Chen’s health and reputation, however, the court lowered the compensation to $5,000 rather than the initial $80,000. This is the first time that a case that argues sexual “rights” has been upheld in a Shanghai court.

Read more about the story at The Guardian.