Why has Thailand's pregnant woman who fell off a cliff been unable to get divorced?, Pushed off a cliff by her husband for 4 years, document | Husband | Thailand
On June 9, 2019, Wang Nuannuan, who was 3 and a half months pregnant, was pushed off a 34 meter high cliff by her husband Yu Moudong in Paden National Park, Ubun Prefecture, Thailand. She suffered 17 fractures throughout her body and miraculously survived 8 days after being rescued in the ICU, becoming the only survivor of numerous wife murders in recent years.
It has been a full four years since the case occurred, and Wang Nuannuan has been working hard to get out of the shadow of this matter. She has tried to register for a blind date website, but without exception, she was rejected because she is still the wife of Yu Moudong in law. She said, "A marriage that is not worthy of its name is bound by a marriage certificate. I am like a bird locked in a cage. When can I soar freely?"
Many people are still puzzled by the existence of their marital relationship. Wang Nuannuan explained on social media that she "cannot divorce, but rather cannot divorce" because she needs to end the criminal proceedings before starting civil proceedings. Therefore, the Thai court rejected her divorce application. However, the good news is that on June 2nd, the final verdict of the case was finally announced, and the defendant Yu Moudong was sentenced to 33 years and 4 months in prison. Wang Nuannuan stated that she is satisfied with the verdict and the criminal case has ended. She will now proceed with divorce proceedings.
Why have you suffered such a cruel blow, yet cannot you divorce quickly, and have to wait for the outcome of the criminal case? What would be the divorce process if such a malignant event occurred in China?
Can't the demon husband get rid of him?
When it comes to this case, many people should still have an impression of some details at that time. Before committing the crime, Yu Moudong sweetly hugged his wife and asked her if she had any regrets in her life. Wang Nuannuan replied, "I don't have any regrets. I live a happy life, have a successful career, and have a happy family." As soon as the words fell, Yu Moudong kissed Wang Nuannuan and viciously said, "You go die," pressing against her face in his ear. Without hesitation, he pushed her off the cliff.
After Wang Nuannuan was rescued, during the hospital treatment, Yu Moudong did not eat, drink, or sleep, and monitored her 24 hours a day without any blind spots. Under the threat of Yu Moudong, Wang Nuannuan, who was seriously injured, dared not reveal the truth and could only admit to the police that he had fallen off the cliff due to dizziness and stumbling. It was not until the fifth day of admission, when there was a gap to escape Yu's surveillance, that Wang Nuannuan quickly reported to the police.
When committing the crime, the means were cruel, and afterwards, he disguised himself as a "good husband" in front of the whole country. This "demonic" behavior is chilling. But why has it reached this point, divorce or a tug of war?
Although Wang Nuannuan and Yu Moudong are both Chinese, the case occurred in Thailand. According to the principle of territoriality, if the perpetrator committed a criminal act within the territory of a country, regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign, the country can exercise criminal jurisdiction over them and prosecute their crimes according to the country's criminal law. This case occurred in Thailand, so it can be dealt with according to the current laws of Thailand.
"From the point of view of the application of the law, the act of marriage applies civil law, and Yu's act of pushing Ms. Wang off the cliff is intentional homicide and should be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of the criminal law. When a civil and criminal case creates an intersection, the question of whether to deal with it in parallel or separately should be considered, which may involve the principle of 'punishment before the people." Gui Fangfang, deputy director of Shanghai jiayujia law firm, explained that Thailand's judicial system strictly follows the principle of "punishment before people". The criminal procedure must be concluded before the trial of civil cases can begin. This is the reason why the Thai court rejected Wang Nuan's divorce lawsuit.
But the situation in our country is different. According to domestic laws and regulations, as long as the judgment of a criminal case has no impact on the trial of a civil case, two lawsuits can be conducted simultaneously. "Therefore, if this incident occurs in China, even if the criminal trial is not yet concluded and the other party is taken compulsory measures or imprisoned, it does not affect the handling of divorce matters." Gui Fangfang explained that if both parties can reach a unified opinion on divorce matters, they can sign a divorce agreement and apply for divorce registration with the Civil Affairs Bureau. However, due to the fact that both parties must be present during divorce registration, and at this time one party is under compulsory measures, relevant departments may need to cooperate.
If both parties are unable to divorce through an agreement, they can resort to litigation and have the court rule on divorce. It should be noted that for defendants who have already been subjected to imprisonment or compulsory education measures, the jurisdictional court is no longer the usual defendant's place of residence, but should be under the jurisdiction of the court in the plaintiff's place of residence. If the defendant is subjected to compulsory measures or has been imprisoned for at least one year, the plaintiff may also file a lawsuit with the people's court in the defendant's detention area or the place where compulsory educational measures are taken. The court may, with the cooperation of the detention center or prison, hold a court hearing and make a judgment in accordance with the law.
How to drive the litigation process?
It can be seen that Wang Nuannuan can also file a divorce lawsuit with a Thai court through the people's court in his place of residence. But the two of them are currently in a cross-border "separation of people and households" situation, where one resides in China, the other resides abroad, and there are other "troubles".
"In fact, the problem is not that the lawsuit cannot be filed, but that the litigation process cannot be pushed forward in essence after the lawsuit is filed." Lawyer Xin Xin, Executive Director of the Dispute Resolution Department of Shanghai Lige Law Firm, analyzed that if the defendant is in custody abroad, the delivery process of civil litigation in the court will be hindered, and there may be situations where delivery cannot be made. In this case, even if the case is filed, the trial must be suspended until the normal process of delivery can be initiated before the lawsuit can be filed. Even if it is not a transnational crime, if one party is detained in a criminal case in China, there will still be this problem.
"Whether it is a domestic criminal case or a cross-border criminal case, the divorce process is actually the same, but due to cross-border issues, the progress of the entire litigation process will be objectively hindered." Xin Xin said that after Wang Nuannuan filed a divorce lawsuit with the people's court in her place of residence, the court needs to deliver the litigation documents to her husband, and the international delivery cycle and process will be relatively long.
How does China now serve litigation documents to foreign countries? According to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Law and relevant judicial interpretations, there are methods such as treaty delivery, diplomatic delivery, embassy delivery, postal delivery, fax email delivery, and announcement delivery. And it is stipulated that in addition to public announcement service, the court may adopt multiple methods of service simultaneously to improve the efficiency of service. In this case, Yu Moudong is in custody in Thailand, and only when the place of detention is clearly specified can the court make a public announcement for service.
Wang Nuannuan's Weibo video "Learn to reconcile with oneself"
Article 10 of the Hague Convention on Service of Documents stipulates: "Unless the destination country objects, this Convention does not prejudice the right to send litigation documents directly to a person abroad through the post office..." Thailand is a contracting party to the Hague Convention on Service of Documents and has not made any reservation to Article 10, that is, does not object to this method of service. Therefore, after Wang Nuannuan filed a lawsuit, the court can deliver it by mail.
However, due to Yu Moudong being detained abroad, even if a copy of the materials is delivered, the trial will still become a challenge. Due to the special nature of divorce proceedings, it is generally necessary to appear in person in court, but Yu Moudong cannot return to China in the short term. Xin Xin said, "Currently, domestic inmates can hold online trials. Is it possible for this case to be resolved through online trials in the future? This requires relevant equipment and technical support from the Thai side, which is another issue."
It may take a long time for Wang Nuannuan to complete the divorce process, but as she said, she is lucky because there is still a future and hope. Although she is still a bit lame now, it will be okay, and I will work hard
