The New Taipei City District Court on Thursday approved a petition for divorce by a man who claimed psychological torture due to his now ex-wife’s unsanitary habits.
The plaintiff, who remains unnamed, said that his wife, surnamed Lin (林), only bathed once a year and did not brush her teeth or wash her hair on a regular basis.
The plaintiff said that Lin’s hygiene habits were off-kilter even when they were going out — when she had bathed once a week — but that her behavior worsened after their marriage, as showers, brushing teeth and washing hair were first put off for one month at a time and then half a year.
The man said that due to Lin’s unhygienic habits, they only had sex once a year, which prevented the couple from having children for a decade.
The man said Lin did not have a job, but also dissuaded him from working, asking him instead to stay at home and cook for his father-in-law, who had difficulty moving around.
“I had an opportunity to work as a building security guard,” the man said, adding that Lin said it was demeaning work and forbade him to take the job.
Lin said that after her father obtained the rights to start a lottery store they could do that for a living, but the man said his father-in-law never managed to draw the lucky straw.
“We remained poor, as neither of us had a job,” the man said, adding that he was even unable to pay his National Health Insurance contribution and could not afford to visit a dentist.
The man said their daily expenses were paid using what little money his wife had been able to get from his mother-in-law.
The man said he moved out of the house and found a job in Hsinchu in late 2015, but finally decided to file for divorce when his wife showed up at his new job demanding that he quit after earning only one month’s salary.
Her husband lied about their relationship, Lin said, adding that her parents had treated him like a son.
She had opposed a divorce and had visited her husband at his job because he had been unwilling to return her calls, Lin said.
The man’s father said he had not known that the situation was so dire until his son complained a year ago that he was unable to work.
Lin’s mother periodically gave her daughter and son-in-law money because the couple was without jobs for many years, she said, adding that she did not wish to continue subsidizing their living expenses.
The couple was at odds over work, family chores and hygiene, the court said, adding that as the two had been separated for about two years, it was evident that the marriage was not going to work.
The judge granted the divorce, but the ruling can still be appealed.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said that a surge in respiratory illnesses in China has been caused by at least seven types of pathogens, and small children, elderly people and immunocompromised people should temporarily avoid unnecessary visits to China. The recent outbreak of respiratory illnesses in China is mainly in the north and among children, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said on Monday. Data released by the Chinese National Health Commission on Sunday showed that among children aged one to four, the main pathogens were influenza viruses and rhinoviruses, while among children aged five to 14, the main pathogens
A New Taipei City hotpot restaurant could be fined after a rat dropped from the ceiling and landed on a customer’s plate last week, the New Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday after conducting an inspection. A woman recently posted on the “I am a Banciao resident” (我是板橋人) social media group saying that she had been eating with a friend at Chien Tu Shabu Shabu Hotpot Restaurant’s Shuangshi B branch in Banciao District (板橋). “While still eating, a big rat suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on a plate next to a hotpot,” she said. “Later on, a member of
A new poll of Taiwanese voters found the top opposition candidate for president jumping past the ruling party’s hopeful into the lead position ahead of January’s election — the latest twist in a drama-filled race. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had an approval rating of 31.9 percent versus 29.2 percent for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the poll released yesterday by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), ranked third with 23.6 percent, according to the survey conducted
Actress Hu Ling (胡伶) on Saturday became the first Chinese movie star to walk the red carpet of the Golden Horse Awards since 2019, when China boycotted Taiwan’s biggest awards show over political tensions. Beijing banned its entertainers from joining the awards, dubbed the Chinese-language Oscars, after documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) voiced support for Taiwan’s formal independence in an acceptance speech in 2018. There were no films from China in the 2019 nomination list and several Hong Kong movies dropped out that year, while several big commercial productions were conspicuously absent at both the 2020 and 2021 awards. However, Hu, nominated for
RSS