The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate.
The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final.
In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.”
Photo: Chang Jui-chen, Taipei Times
The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of establishing a permanent union” and that the marriage did not meet the essential requirements for legality.
Lai died on May 4, 2023, after falling from the balcony of Hsia’s 10th-floor apartment just two hours after registering the marriage. The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office found insufficient evidence to charge Hsia with murder, as there were no signs of trauma, poison or alcohol in Lai’s body.
Hsia was instead sentenced to 18 months in prison in June last year for forging documents related to the marriage registration. He began serving his sentence in February and, based on good behavior, was transferred to a minimum-security facility last month to complete his term.
Lai’s mother had filed the civil suit to formally annul the marriage, which has now been legally confirmed.
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