A centenarian’s marriage to his caregiver unbeknownst to his children has prompted legal action, as the caregiver accuses the man’s children of violating her personal liberty and damaging her reputation, while the children have sought a legal option to have the marriage annulled.
According to sources, the 102-year-old man surnamed Wang (王) lives in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) and previously worked as a land registration agent.
Wang reportedly owns multiple properties and parcels of land worth several hundred million New Taiwan dollars and has ten children.
Photo courtesy of the FTV
His caregiver, a 69-year-old surnamed Lai (賴), has been caring for him since about 1999, the sources said, adding that Wang and Lai registered their marriage at a household registration office earlier last month.
Two of Wang’s sons visited him on Jan. 8 in the company of police to prevent an altercation, as they wanted to take Wang back to their residence for a few days, the sources said, adding the sons were surprised when Lai showed them her identity card, which showed she was married to Wang.
Late last month, one of Wang’s sons said he attempted to visit his father, but was repeatedly blocked by Lai, prompting one of the sons to file a complaint of coercion with the police against her.
At about 3pm on Tuesday as Lai was pushing Wang in a wheelchair to Mackay Memorial Hospital for a follow-up appointment, three of Wang’s sons, three daughters-in-law and four grandchildren waited at a side entrance, rushed forward and seized the wheelchair before leaving by quickly sequestering Wang into a taxi that had been waiting nearby.
Lai called the police and later filed criminal complaints accusing them of unlawful detention, assault and defamation, as well as applying for a protection order. Wang’s descendants filed a civil lawsuit against Lai to annul the marriage and recover assets Wang previously gave to Lai, while requesting a guardianship declaration for Wang.
Sources quoted the precinct as saying that after visiting the
residence of Wang’s son, where Wang was taken after the incident, and ensuring that Wang was not being kept against his will, the police allowed Wang to remain at the son’s residence, as technically, all parties had custody rights.
Wang’s children said since Lai began caring for Wang, he has transferred some of his real estate to her and her two children, with a total value of about NT$200 million (US$6.3 million).
Wang’s children believe their father, being of advanced age, has experienced degradation of his mental capacity in the past few years, yet he was quietly registered as married without their knowledge. They questioned whether Lai facilitated the marriage without his full awareness.
Commenting on the case, former prosecutor Ho Hao-yuan (何皓元), now a lawyer, said on Friday that any attempt to invalidate the marriage between Lai and Wang rested on whether Wang was fully cognizant of the repercussions of his actions at the time.
Wang’s sons would have to provide the authorities with Wang’s complete medical records before the marriage and any clinical diagnosis or psychiatric assessment reports, and if such records could prove that Wang was being manipulated or was diagnosed with neurological conditions rendering him less than fully mentally cognizant, the courts would likely annul the validity of the marriage, Ho said.
Lai could claim that she shared 27 years of deep affection with Wang to support the validity of their marriage, he said.
Should the marriage be considered legal, Lai would be Wang’s recognized spouse in the eyes of the law and would be entitled to NT$10 million or more of the total inheritance, he added.
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